Frequently asked questions
On-site PFAS screening, answered
The questions environmental professionals ask most about rapid, field-ready PFAS detection — how fast it is, how accurate it is, how it deploys in the field, and where it fits alongside accredited laboratory analysis.
Speed & accuracy
- How fast is on-site PFAS screening compared with lab testing?
- Wave Lumina's field workflow returns a decision-ready PFAS measurement in roughly 20 minutes at the sample point. Conventional lab analysis means shipping samples off-site and waiting days to weeks for results — so on-site screening lets crews triage sites and prioritize sampling without stalling the project.
- Is field PFAS screening accurate?
- In real groundwater, the SERS-based method has demonstrated R² ≥ 0.98 linearity and 65–125% spike recovery — within EPA Method 1633A acceptance criteria and benchmarked against LC-MS/MS reference data. It is a quantitative screening tool, not a certified regulatory method; confirmatory laboratory analysis is still required for regulatory reporting.
- What is the detection limit?
- The sensor screens down to roughly 300 ppt (parts per trillion) for PFAS-class surfactants. For context, the EPA's 2024 enforceable drinking-water limit for PFOA and PFOS is 4.0 ppt, so field screening is designed to flag contamination worth confirming and to map relative hot spots, not to replace ultra-trace compliance analysis.
- How does the detection limit depend on calibration?
- Out of the box, the sensor screens down to roughly 300 ppt for PFAS-class surfactants. With site-specific calibration against a known matrix, sensitivity can improve substantially — to around 25 ppt — because calibration tunes the method to the chemistry of that particular site. Either way, screening is meant to prioritize sampling and confirm hot spots, with accredited lab analysis handling ultra-trace compliance reporting.
How it works
- How does SERS-based PFAS detection work?
- The workflow pairs in-field liquid-liquid extraction with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). A few milliliters of water are extracted on-site, the concentrate is applied to an engineered nanoparticle substrate, and a Raman scan plus analysis software returns a quantitative PFAS-class measurement — all without leaving the site.
- Which PFAS does it detect — only the regulated compounds?
- Rather than targeting only the handful of regulated PFAS, the sensor performs surfactant-class screening — casting a wider net across PFAS-class compounds. Regulatory methods focus on a short list of named analytes, but there are thousands of PFAS in commerce. Class-based screening is designed to surface contamination that targeted analysis can miss.
- What kinds of water can it screen?
- The workflow is built for environmental water matrices — groundwater, surface water, and other site waters where PFAS contamination is investigated. Because the method screens by surfactant class rather than a fixed analyte panel, it is designed to flag PFAS-class contamination across the complex, real-world samples crews actually pull in the field.
Field deployment
- How portable is the system, and what do you need on-site?
- The system is field-deployable — it travels in a Pelican-style case, runs about 12 hours on battery, and is sized to ride in an SUV out to the sample point. Each test uses roughly 1 mL of water, run in triplicate, and the extraction-to-readout workflow happens entirely on-site, so there is no shipping samples to a lab and waiting.
- How many samples can you run in the field?
- The workflow is designed to process samples in batches — on the order of four samples per roughly 20-minute block — so a crew can screen multiple points in a single site visit and build a hot-spot map the same day instead of waiting weeks for lab turnaround.
Fit with the lab
- Does on-site screening replace lab confirmation?
- No. Field screening is built for speed and triage: it tells you where PFAS contamination is concentrated so you can sample smarter and move remediation forward. Regulatory reporting and final compliance decisions still rely on accredited laboratory methods. Think of screening and lab analysis as complementary, not interchangeable.
- How does field screening fit with EPA methods like 1633A?
- Field screening and EPA-method lab analysis are complementary. The SERS-based method has been benchmarked against LC-MS/MS reference data and shown to fall within EPA Method 1633A acceptance criteria (R² ≥ 0.98 linearity, 65–125% spike recovery), but it is a screening tool, not a certified regulatory method. Use it to decide where and what to sample; use accredited 1633A lab analysis for the numbers that go into regulatory reports.
About & pilot
- Who is Wave Lumina, and what backs the technology?
- Wave Lumina is a Traverse City, Michigan startup developing field-ready sensor technology for rapid on-site PFAS screening. The work is supported by an NSF SBIR Phase I grant and the Activate Fellowship, and the platform is being validated against laboratory reference methods as it moves toward commercial deployment.
- Who is it for, and how do I join the pilot program?
- The platform is built for environmental consultants, remediation teams, and site owners who need faster PFAS decisions in the field. Wave Lumina is accepting water samples with paired lab analysis as part of its pilot program — a chance to put field screening to the test on your own contaminated sites. Reach out to join.
Wave Lumina's detection technology is protected by U.S. Patent 12,644,842 — "Method and System for Quantifying a Concentration of a Chemical Entity in a Matrix."
Join the pilot program
We're accepting water samples from environmental professionals with paired lab analysis. Put field screening to the test on your own contaminated sites and help shape a tool built for the way you actually work.