Very recently (April) we undertook a SANS experiment (RB1110147) to probe the partitioning of metal-acac ligand complexes in complex microemulsion media. Our aim was to design a microemulsion formulation based on immiscible fluorocarbon (FC) & hydrocarbon (HC) oils and immiscible fluorocarbon & hydrocarbon surfactants, such that through the design of the acac ligand, one could selectively sequester and transport to a given oil phase (fluorocarbon or hydrocarbon) specific metals. In addition, the photophysical properties (e.g. emissive lifetimes) of these lanthanide and actinide complexes are both oxidation state and environment sensitive. Thus, one could engineer a quantitative speciation protocol for mixed metals based on surfactant formulation and ligand design. This would be step change in methodology in the threat abatement of transuranic alpha emitters in the nuclear industry.