Rapid Separation and Quantitation of Isomeric Perfluoroalkyl Substances by Differential Mobility Spectrometry

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Perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) are a class of organic compounds that are widely used in many consumer products and industrial applications such as fire-redardant coatings for fabrics, fire-fighting foams, and food packaging. Owing to the inertness of C-F bonds, PFASs are persist essentially indefinitely in the environment and are commonly found at relatively high levels in soil and groundwater. Over the past two decades, concerns about PFASs have been increasing; these species can bioaccumulate and can adversely affect the health of marine life and potentially humans. Since the year 2000, PFASs have been found globally in, e.g., wildlife, human breast milk, and the blood of the general human population.One of the key challenges in the identification and quantitation of PFASs is the separation of linear and branched chain species. The position and length of the carbon chain has been demonstrated to impact bioaccumulation potential and the toxicity of PFASs to rodents. The current state-of-the-art methods for isomeric PFAS analysis requires analysis times of ca. 15-60 minutes per sample and consumes relatively large amounts of solvent and/or gas. Here, we propose to develop a faster, low-waste analysis technique for PFASs, based on differential mobility spectrometry coupled with mass spectrometry. The proposed analytical technique will improve our ability to detect and monitor environmental PFAS contaminants, and aid in the process of soil and groundwater remediation.