Confirmation Study: No Background PFAS Contamination with EDGE PFAS

Introduction

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of manmade chemicals that are used in a wide variety of industries. They are resistant to high temperatures, stains, and grease, allowing for the performance of products such as nonstick cookware, firefighting foam, and stain-resistant fabrics and furnishings. PFAS molecules are made of linked carbon atoms with fluorine atoms branching off of the main chain. The strong bond of carbon and fluorine makes these compounds extremely stable. Their stability and widespread use presents difficulties for their analytical measurement, as they often leach out of the common materials used in analysis systems. Because of this, LC-MS companies recommend substituting these components with other materials, such as replacing Teflon®-coated solvent lines with polypropylene tubing, to remove the background contamination.

Built on the EDGE platform, the EDGE PFAS is an automated extraction system that has been shown to rapidly and efficiently extract PFAS molecules from samples. To ensure that the EDGE PFAS was free of any PFAS contamination, several substitutions were made to a traditional EDGE system: any potentially contaminated materials (tubing) were exchanged, extra precautions were taken to prevent contamination (side enclosure), and consumables and Q-Cups were assessed for any of PFAS content.

The system was found to be free of any PFAS contamination, and the consumables and Q-Cups were also found to have no contamination. Thus, the modifications done to the EDGE PFAS ensure a clean background for the extraction of PFAS from a variety of matrices.