We’re excited to share that Carl has been awarded funding from a Royal Society of Chemistry initiative aimed at reducing the environmental impact of lab-based science through a series of sustainability projects worldwide. Carl was supported by his colleagues Paweenuch Teerasumran, Nicola Rodricks and Shauna O’Brien. 

Carl will use the grant to validate the application of a Type 1 ultrapure water purifier to source the required specification of water needed for LC-MS/MS analysis. This will allow ultrapure water to be generated from tap water on site, saving energy in transport and resources. 

Reducing the carbon footprint of ultrapure water  

LC-MS/MS are machines that can accurately measure compounds from very complex samples. However, while useful for identifying and quantifying different compounds, large volumes of LC-MS grade ultrapure water alongside other chemicals are required to accurately quantify metabolites in complex sample matrices at low concentrations.  

LC-MS/MS machines can accurately detect and measure compounds in complex samples. However, they require large amounts of ultrapure water and other chemicals to accurately measure very small amounts of compounds. 

Ultapure LC-MS grade water that is required for LC-MS/MS operation and sample preparation is currently sourced externally from the LMS. The delivery of water has a large environmental impact, and stored in 1 or 2.5 litre glass bottles with plastic caps. The size and weight of these shipments results in more energy used to transport the cargo. This holds true for both electric and petrol vehicles. The funding will be used to test the use of ultrapure water produced in house for LC-MS/MS operation and sample measurements. If successful, this will cut down on the carbon footprint of obtaining ultrapure water, alongside eliminating excess waste and recycling from discarded unused empty bottles. A further objective will be to communicate any successful outcomes to other analytical chemistry laboratories to enhance the uptake of this sustainability practice. 

 Sustainability at the LMS 

Reducing the environmental impact of our research is important to the LMS.  In recent years the LMS has secured funding to hire a full time Sustainability Officer, won the LEAF Silver Award and acquired £70,000 in MRC funding for a wide range of sustainability initiatives. Our efforts to meet our sustainability goals, are supported by the Greening Committee, a grass-roots effort to ensure the LMS’ carbon footprint is as low as possible without impacting the quality of research. 

Carl’s grant will further support the LMS towards meeting its sustainability goals. 

Congratulations to Carl and the team!