Emerging Strategies in PFAS Identification: Advanced Analytical Approaches for Environmental Samples

By attending this presentation, you will learn:

• Non-targeted analytical methodologies for PFAS characterizations
• Practical examples of identifying emerging PFAS in industrial wastewater, indoor dust, and outdoor air
• Evaluation of impact from ski waxes and potentially hydrophobic coatings
• Environmental transport, transformation, and degradation of commercial PFAS materials

Presentation 1: Non-targeted screening of per-/polyfluoroalkyl substances by cyclic ion mobility-mass spectrometry

• Karl J. Jobst, Associate Professor, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador

Concerns regarding the persistence, bioaccumulation behaviour, and toxicity of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) have resulted in the creation of thousands of replacements whose occurrence, environmental fate, and adverse health impacts are unknown. This has driven analytical chemists to develop non-targeted screening (NTS) methods to accelerate the identification of unknown PFAS. Unlike other halogens, such as chlorine or bromine, 19F exists as a single stable isotope; thus, PFAS are not characterized by diagnostic isotope patterns.

This presentation describes a novel strategy to identify unknown PFAS using gas or liquid chromatographic cyclic ion mobility mass spectrometry (LCxcIMS or GCxcIMS). Unknown PFAS are recognized by having a collision-cross section (CCS) that is less than the sum of 100 Å2 and one fifth of their mass. By filtering the detected unknowns by mass and CCS, novel PFAS were revealed in a variety of environmental media, including industrial wastewater, indoor dust, and outdoor air, and their identities were confirmed through tandem mass spectrometry experiments with (synthesized) standards.

Presentation 2: Explore a multidimensional, non-targeted analytical approach using advanced chromatography and mass spectrometry to improve PFAS identification

• Frank Dorman, Senior Business Development Manager, Waters

Poly/per-fluorinated aliphatic substances (PFAS) are of increasing concern in both the environment and food, and the understanding of their chemical complexity is strategically important. According to published literature, known PFAS chemicals, quantified on a targeted basis using available reference standards, have been shown to account for only 20-30% of total organic fluorine in “traditional source” samples. The remaining 70-80% is derived from other PFAS that are either commercial chemicals for which no reference standards are available, or downstream degradation/metabolism products of commercial chemicals with novel structures. Additionally, it is arguable if the target compound lists associated with regulatory methods even apply to “non-traditional” PFAS sources (non-AFFF, etc.).

This presentation will describe an analytical approach capable of utilizing both liquid- and gas-chromatographic separations coupled to a high-resolution ion-mobility spectrometer in series with a high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer. This multidimensional, non-targeted separation dramatically improves identification of PFAS compounds. In addition, a post-acquisition data reduction strategy will be discussed, which effectively enables more automated characterization of non-targeted PFAS, either as native or degradation compounds. This becomes especially beneficial in “non-traditional” source contamination or where degradation products are of interest. This methodology will be utilized for a series of environmental forensic applications towards winter sports activities, an emerging area of concern with respect to PFAS contamination in the environment.

Who should attend:

• Environmental scientists and chemists
• Analytical chemists
• Laboratory directors and technical leads
• Contract testing organizations (CTOs)
• Government and academic lab researchers
• Regulatory and risk assessment professionals
• Environmental forensics researchers
• Food safety scientists
• Toxicologists and exposure scientists
• Winter sports organizations and sustainability officers

Presenter: Karl J. Jobst (Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador)

Karl J. Jobst is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. He obtained his Ph.D. in gas-phase ion chemistry from McMaster University under the supervision of Professor Johan K. Terlouw. His interests in the chemistry of interstellar clouds soon evolved into more earth-oriented research as a Visiting Fellow at Environment Canada, a Scientist with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, as well as Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry of his alma mater and in the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough. His current research focuses on the identification of emerging contaminants and understanding their environmental and human health impacts using novel mass spectrometry and computational methods. Dr. Jobst has (co)authored over 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals, and serves on the editorial board of Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health.

Presenter: Frank Dorman  (Senior Business Development Manager, Waters)

Frank Dorman is currently Senior Business Development Manager for Waters focusing on their global environmental business and, concurrently, a resident scholar in the Chemistry Department at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH where he is active in teaching analytical chemistry to undergraduates and graduate students. In his role at Waters, Frank manages the research-focused environmental market, external collaborations, and interfaces with R&D for new product development. Prior to this, Frank was an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) at Penn State University in University Park, PA. At Penn State, Frank served as a member of the Graduate Faculty in Biochemistry, Microbiology and Molecular Biology (BMMB), Chemistry (CHEM), Biogeochemistry (BGC) and the Forensic Science Program (FRNSC) and the Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis. Frank's scientific interests are in gas and liquid chromatography and fundamental characterization, instrumentation and column development, as well as mass spectrometry and atomic spectroscopy as applied to trace analysis in complex sample matrices.