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“Harnessing Chemistry to Remove Nanoplastics from Water”

Speaker: Gary Baker, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Missouri-Columbia

Date: January 28, 2025, noon-1 p.m.

Location: Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health Building, Atkins Family Seminar Room

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One Minute Summary

Description

“It’s a collaboration. It’s a whole ecosystem that’s needed to fix… the ecosystem.”

������Ƶresearchers are at the forefront of solving major problems, like removing unwanted contaminants from Earth’s water supply. The latest development is a technique that’s at filtering water for nanoplastics, the pesky particles that studies have found deposited in various parts of the body.

Dr. Gary Baker, a chemist at MU, has been a natural scientist since childhood. “I wasn’t, like, well known,” he laughs. “But at age eight I knew more about water bugs than anyone in my school.”

In his professional career, he’s become an expert on engineering “designer solvents,” which are liquids with chemical structures specialized for tasks like water purification. They’re a cost-effective way to help capture heavy metals, pesticides, radionuclides, PFAS (aka “forever chemicals”) and now nanoplastics.

His team’s solvents don’t mix with water. Instead, they absorb nanoplastic particles and float to the top, leaving clean water beneath. Plus, they have the added benefit of being benign “phytochemicals” derived from plants, like thymol (from the herb thyme) and menthol (from peppermint), making them safe to ingest.

That’s big news because past research has that microplastics and nanoplastics could have harmful health effects. in the New England Journal of Medicine linked their presence in the plaque of blood vessels to a two to four-fold greater risk of cardiovascular complications like heart attack or stroke.

“Nanoplastics are a bit more nefarious [than microplastics] because they can be hundreds, even thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair,” says Dr. Baker. “They’re small enough that they can interact with cell membranes. They can start to intercalate in tissue.”

������Ƶ the Speaker

Gary A. Baker is an associate professor at the University oMissouri, where he leads cutting-edge research focused on sustainable chemistry solutions for environmental and health challenges. A specialist in water remediation and chemical problem-solving, Baker’s work has garnered national attention, particularly for his innovative solvent-based strategies to remove nanoplastics from water. His recent breakthrough—achieving over 98% efficiency in nanoplastic removal—leverages water-repelling, non-toxic solvents, offering a highly sustainable approach to global water purification efforts. Baker holds a BS from the State University of New York at Oswego and a PhD in Chemistry from the University at Buffalo. Prior to joining Mizzou, he held research positions at Oak Ridge and Los Alamos National Laboratories, where his work earned him the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2008. 

������Ƶ the Discovery Series

provides learning opportunities for UM System faculty and staff across disciplines, the statewide community and our other partners to learn about the scope of precision health research and identify potential collaborative opportunities. The series consists of monthly lectures geared toward a broad multidisciplinary audience so all can participate and appreciate the spectrum of precision health efforts. 

For questions about this event or any others in the Discovery Series, please reach out to Mackenzie Lynch.