Micro-solid phase extraction of perfluorinated carboxylic acids from human plasma

Area of Science:

• Environmental Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Toxicology

Background:

• Perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) are persistent environmental contaminants found globally.
• Human plasma analysis is vital for understanding PFCA exposure and health risks.
• Existing analytical methods face challenges with complex biological matrices and matrix effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and optimize a micro-solid phase extraction (μ-SPE) method for determining trace PFCAs in human plasma.
• To validate the method's performance, including linearity, detection limits, and recovery.
• To assess the method's suitability for analyzing real-world human plasma samples containing PFCAs.

Main Methods:

• Development of a μ-SPE technique utilizing surfactant-templated mesoporous silica as the sorbent.
• Optimization of extraction parameters (time, desorption time, salt concentration) using central composite design.
• Analysis of extracted PFCAs using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Main Results:

• The optimized μ-SPE method demonstrated good linearity (R² between 0.986-0.995) for PFCAs in the range of 100-5000 ng/L.
• Achieved low limits of detection (21.23-65.07 ng/L) and quantification (70.77-216.92 ng/L).
• Reported high relative recoveries (87.58-102.45%) and detected low-level PFCA contamination in human plasma samples, with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) being most prevalent.

Conclusions:

• The developed μ-SPE method is effective for the sensitive and accurate determination of trace PFCAs in human plasma.
• The method successfully overcomes matrix interferences common in biological samples.
• This approach provides an advantageous single-step extraction and concentration technique for PFCA analysis in complex matrices.