Objective
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic, bio-accumulative chemicals extensively used in industrial and consumer applications. Their extreme persistence has led to widespread, uncontrolled presence in water, soil, and even human blood. Proven links of PFAS to serious health effects, including cancer, immune dysfunction, and reproductive toxicity, have prompted increasingly strict regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the European Chemicals Agency. Growing awareness of these risks, confirmed by the steady expansion of the PFAS testing market (USD 781.25M in 2023 to USD 1330.27M by 2030 with a CAGR of 7.9% from 2024 to 2030), is fueling demand for accurate detection solutions, supported by recent unprecedented advances in quantification technologies.
The current gold standard, Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectroscopy, meets the stringent regulatory requirements, but is costly, needs trained staff and complex sample preparation, and remains confined to centralized laboratories with turnaround times of hours to days. Yet utilities, regulators, and remediation teams need on-site results in minutes to shift from pure reactive monitoring to proactive intervention.
Nanomaterials are at the forefront of next-generation sensing technologies. In particular, optical metasurfaces, i.e. nanostructured films only a few hundred nanometers thick with unique optical properties, are poised to transform a wide range of applications, including environmental monitoring. Despite these exceptional promises, the few market-ready nano-enabled options face several major limitations, and fail to meet the urgent field needs.
Within META-SENSE, we will conduct a technical and commercial feasibility study of a compact, regenerable, label-free nanosensor based on high quality-factor metasurfaces for on-site PFAS quantification. With the potential to overcome current key bottlenecks, META-SENSE will mark the first attempt in this domain.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering sensors
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- engineering and technology nanotechnology nano-materials
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-POC
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
20133 Milano
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.