LC-MS Analysis of PFAS Compounds

Section Overview

• Introduction
• Experimental
• Results
• Conclusion
• Related Products

Introduction

PFAS (Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) are persistent, man-made organic compounds, widely found in the environment. Recent awareness has brought attention to the toxicity of these substances. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have initiated actions against PFAS. For determination of PFASs, liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) is a commonly used technique.

The EPA has developed, validated, and published three methods to support the analysis of 29 PFAS in drinking water, method 533, 537 and 537.1. EPA 8327 covers the analysis of selected per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in prepared extracts of various matrices (e.g., waters and solids) by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis.

The Ascentis^® Express PFAS HPLC column is designed for the separation of novel and legacy short-chain and long-chain PFAS compounds containing branched and linear isomers, whilst adhering to EPA methodology requirements.

Furthermore, a specific PFAS delay column prevents background PFAS contamination from interfering with the sample results in quantitative LC-MS methods (Figure 1).

Experimental

Instrument Set-up with a Delay Column

LC-MS Method 

LC-MS/MS analysis was performed using the conditions shown in Table 1.

Results

The selectivity data for the different EPA method compounds under the conditions outlined in Table 1 is displayed in Figure 2-4 and Table 2.

Conclusion

The application tested Ascentis^® Express PFAS column has demonstrated to be a valuable tool for reliable PFAS testing. The Ascentis^® Express PFAS Delay column supports this effort by efficiently separating potential PFAS background originating from the instrument from the actual sample signals.

Learn more about PFAS analysis at SigmaAldrich.com/PFAS