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Identification of an Analytical Method Interference for Perfluorobutanoic Acid in Biological Samples.
Citation:
Bangma, J., J. Reiner, R. Fry, T. Manuck, J. McCord, AND M. Strynar. Identification of an Analytical Method Interference for Perfluorobutanoic Acid in Biological Samples. Environmental Science & Technology Letters. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 8(12):1085–1090, (2021). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00901
Impact/Purpose:
Authors hope this information will help to guide PFAS researchers how to best verify PFBA quantification using low-resolution mass spectrometry in biological matrices in the future to reduce potential over reporting of PFBA in the literature.
Description:
The investigation of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in environmental and biological samples relies on both high- and low-resolution mass spectrometry (MS) techniques. While high-resolution MS (HRMS) can be used for identification and quantification of novel compounds, low-resolution MS is the more commonly used and affordable approach for studies examining previously identified PFAS. Of note, perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) is one of the smaller PFAS observed in biological and environmental samples and has only one major MS/MS transition, preventing the use of qualitative transitions for verification. Recently, our laboratories undertook a targeted investigation of PFAS in the human placenta from high-risk pregnancies utilizing low-resolution, targeted MS/MS. Examination of placental samples revealed a widespread (n = 93/122 (76%)) chemical interferent in the quantitative ion channel for PFBA (213 → 169). PFBA concentrations were influenced by up to ∼3 ng/g. Therefore, additional chromatographic and HRMS/MS instrumentation was utilized to investigate the suspect peak and putatively assign the identity of the interfering compound as the saturated oxo-fatty acid (SOFA) 3-oxo-dodecanoic acid.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: Identification of an Analytical Method Interference for Perfluorobutanoic Acid in Biological Samples.