U.S. researchers have developed a new set of molecules with the potential to clean up some common but quite dangerous groundwater pollutants. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University said the pollutants, called organohalides, comprise a large percentage of major water contaminants, so any strategy to reduce their prevalence would constitute a major advance in pollution-control technology. The molecules are enzymes and are a variation of natural substances called porphyrins, which can act as catalysts to neutralize a variety of harmful chemicals. The researchers made a tiny change in their structure that gives them very different properties than the same molecules found in nature. “By studying these natural mimics, we can learn a great deal about why nature — actually, evolution — made certain choices in the design and development of enzymes,” the researchers said. They think some of the molecules being investigated ultimately could be used to manufacture specialty chemicals and pharmaceuticals, as well as render groundwater pollutants harmless via a simple chemical reaction. © Copyright 2004 by United Press International

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