Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto , 80 St George Street, Toronto, M5S 3H6 Ontario, Canada.
Environ Sci Technol. 2014;48(1):121-9. doi: 10.1021/es403729e. Epub 2013 Dec 16.
Recent studies comparing the results of total organofluorine-combustion ion chromatography (TOF-CIC) to targeted analysis of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) have shown that a significant yet variable portion of the total organofluorine in environmental and biological samples is in the form of unknown PFASs. A portion of this unknown organofluorine likely originates in proprietary fluorinated surfactants not included in LC-MS/MS analyses and not fully characterized by the environmental science community, which may enter the environment through use in aqueous film forming foams (AFFFs) for firefighting. Contamination of water, biota, and soils with various PFASs due to AFFF deployment has been documented. Ten fluorinated AFFF concentrates, 9 of which were obtained from fire sites in Ontario, Canada, and two commercial fluorinated surfactant concentrates were characterized in order to identify novel fluorinated surfactants. Mixed-mode ion exchange solid phase extraction (SPE) fractionated fluorinated surfactants based on ionic character. High resolution mass spectrometry assigned molecular formulas to fluorinated surfactant ions, while collision induced dissociation (CID) spectra assisted structural elucidation. LC-MS/MS detected isomers and low abundance fluorinated chain lengths. In total, 12 novel and 10 infrequently reported PFAS classes were identified in fluorinated chain lengths from C3 to C15 for a total of 103 compounds. Further research should examine the environmental fate and toxicology of these PFASs, especially their potential as perfluoroalkyl acid (PFAA) precursors.
最近的研究比较了总有机氟燃烧离子色谱 (TOF-CIC) 与液相色谱串联质谱 (LC-MS/MS) 靶向分析全氟烷基和多氟烷基物质 (PFAS) 的结果，表明环境和生物样品中总有机氟的很大一部分是以未知 PFAS 的形式存在。这部分未知有机氟可能来自于 LC-MS/MS 分析中未包括的专有含氟表面活性剂，也未被环境科学界充分表征，这些表面活性剂可能通过用于消防的水成膜泡沫 (AFFF) 进入环境。由于 AFFF 的部署，水、生物群和土壤中已被证实存在各种 PFAS 的污染。为了识别新型含氟表面活性剂，对 10 种氟化 AFFF 浓缩物（其中 9 种来自加拿大安大略省的火灾现场）和 2 种商业氟化表面活性剂浓缩物进行了特征描述。混合模式离子交换固相萃取 (SPE) 根据离子特性对含氟表面活性剂进行了分离。高分辨率质谱将分子公式分配给含氟表面活性剂离子，而碰撞诱导解离 (CID) 谱则有助于结构阐明。LC-MS/MS 检测到异构体和低丰度氟代链长。总共鉴定出 12 种新型和 10 种罕见报道的 PFAS 类，氟代链长从 C3 到 C15，共 103 种化合物。进一步的研究应该检查这些 PFAS 的环境归宿和毒理学，特别是它们作为全氟烷基酸 (PFAA) 前体的潜力。
