Study on the Determination of Perfluorocarboxylic Acids (PFCAs) in House Dust Samples by Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) Method
Main Article Content
Abstract
Perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) are an important group of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which have been intensively produced and used due to their outstanding features such as high resistance and water and oil repellency. However, these are also typical organic pollutants with several adverse effects on environmental and human health. Studies on the analytical methods for PFAS in general, and PFCAs in particular, in the environments are necessary to characterize their potential emission sources and related health risks. In this study, analytical procedure for simultaneous determination of 12 PFCAs (C5–C18) in house dust samples was developed with 3 main steps: i) Dust samples were extracted by ultrasonication with methanol; ii) Dust extracts were cleaned up by dispersive solid phase extraction with graphitized carbon sorbent; and iii) Concentrations of PFCAs were determined by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method. The method was validated for recovery (72-95%), repeatability (RSD < 15%), and detection limits (0.10-1.0 ng/g). The proposed analytical method can be applied in pollution monitoring and assessment of PFCAs in settled dusts with several advantages like high accuracy, good detection ability at trace and ultratrace levels (i.e., ng/g or lower) with rapid, simple sample preparation procedure.
Keywords:
PFCAs, dust, ultrasonic extraction, dispersive solid phase extraction, LC-MS/MS.
References
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[2] A. B. Lindstrom, M. J. Strynar, E. L. Libelo, Polyfluorinated Compounds: Past, Present, and Future, Environ. Sci. Technol, Vol. 45, 2011, pp. 7954-7961, https://doi.org/10.1021/es2011622.
[3] C. A. Moody, J. A. Field, Perfluorinated Surfactants and the Environmental Implications of Their Use in Fire-Fighting Foams, Environ. Sci. Technol., Vol. 34, 2000, pp. 3864-3870, https://doi.org/10.1021/es991359u.
[4] K. S. Katarzynska, M. Surma, I. Cieslik, A Review of Perfluoroalkyl Acids (PFAAs) in Terms of Sources, Applications, Human Exposure, Dietary Intake, Toxicity, Legal Regulation, and Methods of Determination,
J. Chem., Vol. 2019, 2019, pp. 2717528, https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/2717528.
[5] C. Schiavone, C. Portesi, PFAS: A Review of the State of the Art, from Legislation to Analytical Approaches and Toxicological Aspects for Assessing Contamination in Food and Environment and Related Risks Contamination in Food and Environment and Related Risks, Appl. Sci., Vol. 13, 2023, pp. 6696, https://doi.org/10.3390/app13116696.
[6] S. P. J. V. Leeuwen, J. D. Boer, Extraction and Clean-up Strategies for the Analysis of Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Environmental and Human Matrices, J. Chromatogr. A, Vol. 1153, 2007, pp. 172-185,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2007.02.069.
[7] S. E. Fenton, A. Ducatman, A. Boobis, J. C. DeWitt, C. Lau, C. Ng, J. S. Smith, S. M. Roberts, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Toxicity and Human Health Review: Current State of Knowledge and Strategies for Informing Future Research, Environ. Toxicol, Chem., Vol. 40, 2021, pp. 606-630, https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.4890.
[8] L. Lucattini, G. Poma, A. Covaci, J. de Boer, M. H. Lamoree, P. E. G. Leonards, A Review of Semi-volatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs) in the Indoor Environment: Occurrence in Consumer Products, Indoor Air and Dust, Chemosphere, Vol. 201, 2018, pp. 466-482, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.02.161.
[9] H. Moriwaki, Y. Takata, R. Arakawa, Concentrations of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) in Vacuum Cleaner Dust Collected in Japanese Homes, J. Environ. Monit., Vol. 5, 2003, pp. 753-757, https://doi.org/10.1039/b307147m.
[10] C. Kubwabo, B. Stewart, J. Zhu, L. Marro, Occurrence of Perfluorosulfonates and Other Perfluorochemicals in Dust From Selected Homes in the City of Ottawa, Canada, J. Environ. Monit., Vol. 7, 2005, pp. 1074-1078,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/b507731c.
[11] J. A. Björklund, K. Thuresson, C. A. de Wit, Perfluoroalkyl Compounds (PFCs) in Indoor Dust: Concentrations, Human Exposure Estimates, and Sources, Environ. Sci. Technol., Vol. 43, 2009, pp. 2276-2281, https://doi.org/10.1021/es803201a.
[12] M. J. Strynar, A. B. Lindstrom, Perfluorinated Compounds in House Dust From Ohio and North Carolina, USA, Environ. Sci. Technol., Vol. 42, 2008, pp. 3751-3756, https://doi.org/10.1021/es7032058.
[13] H. Tan, S. Tang, L. Yang, J. Li, Y. Deng, H. Shen, Q. Dai, Y. Gao, P. Wu, L. Zhu, Z. Cai, Global Quantification of Emerging and Legacy Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Indoor Dust: Levels, Profiles and Human Exposure, Sci. Total Environ., Vol. 927, 2024, pp. 172132, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172132.
[14] E. Yamazaki, D. Lawani, Y. Ruan, S. Taniyasu, N. Hanari, N. J.I. Kumar, P. K.S. Lam, N. Yamashita, Nationwide Distribution of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Road Dust from India, Sci. Total Environ.,
Vol. 892, 2023, pp. 164538, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164538.
[15] O. Ragnarsdóttir, M. A. E. Abdallah, S. Harrad, Dermal Bioaccessibility of Perfluoroalkyl Substances from Household Dust; Influence of Topically Applied Cosmetics, Environ. Res., Vol. 238, 2023, pp. 117093,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.117093
[16] S. Barreca, M. M. M. Mancuso, D. Sacristán, A. Pace, D. Savoca, S. Orecchio, Determination of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) in the Indoor Dust Matter of the Sicily (Italy) Area: Analysis and Exposure Evaluations, Toxics, Vol 12, 2024, pp. 28, https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics12010028.
[17] Y. Biao, J. Xu, W. R. Chen, Factors Affecting the Occurrence and Accumulation of Perfluoroalkyl Acids in Indoor Dust in Tainan, Taiwan, Chemosphere, Vol. 349, 2024, pp. 140882, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140882.
[18] N. M. DeLuca, J. M. Minucci, A. Mullikin, R. Slover, E. A. C. Hubal, Human Exposure Pathways to Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) from Indoor Media: A Systematic Review, Environ. Int., Vol. 162, 2022, pp. 107149, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107149.
[19] A. Q. Hoang, T. L. Tran, L. H. Tuyen, T. A. H. Nguyen, D. M. Pham, T. C. Nguyen, T. N. Nguyen, D. Q. Phan, M. K. Nguyen, V. Q. Tran, C. T. Pham, Q. D. Bui, T. Q. H. Nguyen, Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Food Contact Materials: Preliminary Investigation in Vietnam and Global Comparison, Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res., Vol. 30, 2023, pp. 104181-104193, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29746-5.
[20] Y. Wu, K. Romanak, T. Bruton, A. Blum, M. Venier, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Paired Dust and Carpets from Childcare Centers, Chemosphere, Vol. 251, 2020, pp. 126771, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.126771.
[21] F. Xu, D. Chen, X. Liu, Q. Guan, H. Tan, D. Zhou, Y. Shi, J. Liu, Y. Hu, Emerging and Legacy Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in House Dust from South China: Contamination Status and Human Exposure Assessment, Environ. Res., Vol. 192, 2021, pp. 110243, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.110243.