Non-targeted Screening of Household Dust for PFAS and Other Pollutants Using GCxGC-HRTOFMS and Scaled Mass Defect Plots

Emerging Environmental Applications for High Resolution Mass Spectrometry
Oral Presentation

Prepared by D. Alonso, J. Binkley
LECO CORPORATION, 3024 Veronica Dr., ESW, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, United States


Contact Information: [email protected]; 269-985-5817

ABSTRACT

Per- and polyfluorinatedalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous and persistent compounds that are detrimental to human health. It is critically important to regularly monitor PFAS and other toxic persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as phthalates, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and pesticides. In this study, we used enhanced chromatographic resolution, a novel multi-mode ionization source, high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and powerful software tools for the non-targeted analysis of PFAS and other pollutants in dust. Dust is a repository of a wide array of substances and is an excellent indicator of chemical exposure.

The analytical methodology resulted in the confident annotation of numerous compounds including hydrocarbons, acids, amines, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, phenols, terpenes, fatty acids, steroids, phosphates, illicit drugs, and over-the-counter drugs. The data was additionally processed using advanced Spectral Analysis Tools (SAT) to search for trace-level PFAS, POPs, and pesticides in the complex dust matrix. These Lower level pollutants were characterized using, multidimensional contour plots, high-resolution accurate mass data, and scaled mass defect plots. For example, annotated PFAS included fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs), and polyfluorinated alkyl alkanes. The EI spectra for a homologous series of FTOHs were very similar resulting in incorrect annotations. However, the complementary PCI data provided molecular formula information and helped characterize the FTOHs. The described methodology is a very valuable tool for the effective monitoring of human chemical exposure.