You are here:
Analysis of Hexafluoropropylene Oxide-dimer Acid (HFPO-DA) by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS): Review of Current Approaches and Environmental Levels
Citation:
Mullin, L., D. Katz, N. Riddell, R. Plumb, J. Burgess, L. Yeung, AND I. Ericson Jogsten. Analysis of Hexafluoropropylene Oxide-dimer Acid (HFPO-DA) by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS): Review of Current Approaches and Environmental Levels. TRENDS IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 118:828-839, (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2019.05.015
Impact/Purpose:
Tetrafluoro-2-(heptafluoropropoxy)propanoic acid (HFPO-DA) is a replacement compound used to manufacture products such as Teflon®, because it is considered less persistent and less toxic than previously used per- and polyfluorinated alkanoic substances (PFAS). While this compound has previously been detected in the environment downstream of certain manufacturing facilities, little is known about the persistence, fate and toxicity of HFPO-DA. Existing methods for PFAS can be used to detect HFPO-DA, however present methods are not specifically designed to detect this compound resulting in compound degradation before reaching the detector. As a result, our ability to detect this compound is poor in comparison to other PFAS compounds. This manuscript reviews global distributions and trends of HFPO-DA concentrations and the methods used to obtain those results. The challenges with these methods are evaluated and discussed with a perspective on future improvements which will allow for greater analytical accuracy when quantifying HFPO-DA in a range of sample types.
Description:
Emerging per- and polyfluorinated compounds (PFAS) compounds are of increasing interest for environmental monitoring, one in particular is hexafluoropropylene oxide-dimer acid (HFPO-DA), commonly referred to as GenX. The following review describes existing liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry methods used to analyze HFPO-DA, including sample preparation and method sensitivity relative to other PFAS. Analytical challenges are also described, namely the significant degree of in-source fragmentation, dimer and dimer adduct formation which detract from [M-H]- formation and occur under ESI- with the herein described LC-MS methods. Lastly, detected levels of HFPO-DA in environmental and biological samples are compared across the limited number of available field exposure studies, which found several g/L concentrations in water samples taken near fluorochemical plant discharges.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: Analysis of Hexafluoropropylene Oxide-dimer Acid (HFPO-DA) by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS): Review of Current Approaches and Environmental Levels