Analysis and validation of perfluorinated compounds in water, sediment and fish with LC-ESI–MS/MS

ABSTRACT

The analysis of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in environmental matrices is challenging, as the concentrations are generally low, but the risk of contamination is high. Sample preparation is a critical step and it is necessary to minimise the possibility of contamination. In this study, we successfully applied and validated a modified ion pair extraction method to quantify PFCs in sediment and fish samples. A large volume injection method was validated and used to quantify PFCs in different water matrices. Isotope internal standard of every analyte was applied to correct matrix effects. The recoveries of the analytes were 92–106% for water matrix, 93–119% for fish matrix and 86–103% for soil matrix whereas the achieved limit of quantitation values were 1.3–14.9 ng/L for water, 0.19–0.28 μg/kg for fish and 0.14–0.41 for soil samples. Thirty-one surface water, 8 stormwater and 41 sediment samples collected all over Estonia were analysed and 4 (out of 8 analysed) PFCs were found in quantitative amount. The most frequently detected analyte perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) was found in 26% of the water samples with a maximum concentration of 137 ng/L.

KEYWORDS:

• Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs)
• ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS)
• ion pair extraction (IPE)
• large volume injection (LVI)
• validation

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge Estonian Environmental Research Centre for financial support and the Estonian Environment Agency for financing the surveillance of water and sediment. We also want to thank Indrek Pruul for his assistance with the sample mapping.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.