기발한 발견: 텍사스 A&M 대학의 한 화학자가 물 속에 함유된 불소를 감지하는 기술을 개발하였다.

여름 무더위를 극복하는 최고의 방법 중 하나는 몸에 수분을 충분히 공급하는 것이다. 모든 수돗물이나 병에 담긴 물의 한 모금은 치아 건강을 위해 불소를 함유하고 있다. 하지만 그 정도가 지나칠 경우, 뼈를 약하게 하거나 다른 건강상의 문제로 이어질 수 있다.

연방 공무원들은 그 정도를 백만 파트당 0.7 파트로 규명하고 있다. 하지만 텍사스 A&M 대학의 화학자, Francois P. Gabbai는 위와 같은 미세한 단위의 불소 감지는 헷갈릴 수 있는 여지가 다분하다고 말한다. 그와 그의 연구팀은 불소가 함유된 물과 만났을 때 형광물질을 방출하는 천연금속 입자를 그 해결방안으로 제시하였다. Gabbai는 최근 기술을 좀더 개발하기 위해 National Science Foundation으로부터 44만 달러를 수여받았다.

COLLEGE STATION -- One of the best ways to beat the summer heat is to stay well hydrated. Each swig of tap or bottled water contains fluoride, which promotes dental health. Too much, however, could make bones brittle and lead to other health issues.

Federal authorities recommend no more than 0.7 parts per million, but Texas A&M University chemist Francois P. Gabbai says fluoride detection at such miniscule levels can be tricky. He and his research group specialize in building one possible solution -- organometallic molecules that emit fluorescence when they are mixed with water containing fluoride. Gabbai recently earned a $440,000 National Science Foundation grant to further develop the technology.

"The sensors have to physically make contact with fluoride, but we had a fundamental challenge: Water serves as a very efficient buffer and keeps the sensor away from the fluoride anion," said Gabbai, a professor in the Department of Chemistry. "So we make organometallic compounds that have a high affinity for small anions. These compounds are Lewis acids -- molecules that are lacking in electrons -- that capture fluoride and brighten when they find it. I think we were the first to consider the use of these metal-based Lewis acids in water. It was a bit of a daring move."

Fluoride, which occurs naturally, is added into water and toothpaste. Federal authorities recently lowered the recommended dosage from 1.2 to 0.7 parts per million -- a limit that previously had been several times higher. Gabbai has tested local water and found it to be safe. He also said cases of fluorosis and other issues caused by overexposure to fluoride are relatively rare. But Gabbai's research offers a new tool for monitoring water supplies and ensuring safety standards.

Gabbai is using the same principles involved in aqueous fluoride detection to discover new methods to image cancer. This work, carried out in collaboration with a group at the University of Southern California, involves the development of new cancer imaging agents containing radioactive Fluorine 18 (F-18). These imaging agents are made by mixing F-18 fluoride with organometallic Lewis acids. Once injected, they allow for the imaging of cancer in patients using a technique called positron emission tomography (PET). Physicians, radiologists and researchers can follow the biological pathway in real time by tracking the emitted gamma rays produced as the F-18 decays. But they only have a window of about two hours to catch the isotope, append it to a biomolecule, inject it into the patient and get an image.

"It's a race against time," Gabbai said. "And we have very efficient methods to beat the odds and catch Fluorine 18. Now people are making imaging agents that target cancer, for example. And we're involved with that."

For Gabbai, who joined the Texas A&M faculty in 1998, his research gives him personal satisfaction beyond the societal value it provides. He loved the water growing up, spending his childhood fishing, and now is a frequent visitor to Lake Bryan. Although he wanted to be a marine biologist as a teenager in the French wine country region of Bergerac, he believed that chemistry offered more dynamic job prospects. By integrating water into his chemistry research, he now has a sense of coming full circle.

"Water may be the link between all my interests," Gabbai said. "In a way, I'm finally professionally happy."

[출처: College of Science, Texas A&M University / 2013년 6월 24일]