Simultaneous Determination of Four Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in DHA Products using LC-MS/MS for...

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Food Science
• Environmental Health

Background:

• Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is vital for infants and pregnant women, but can be contaminated by persistent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
• Lack of standardized methods for PFAS detection in DHA hinders quality control and risk assessment.
• PFAS contamination poses potential health risks to consumers of DHA supplements.

Purpose of the Study:

• Develop and validate a sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method.
• Simultaneously determine four key PFAS (PFOA, PFODA, PFOS, PFBS) in DHA.
• Support safety evaluation of DHA products like algal and fish oil.

Main Methods:

• Ultrasonication extraction followed by centrifugation and filtration.
• Rapid 12-minute chromatographic separation using a Phenomenex Kinetex F5 column.
• Detection via negative electrospray ionization (ESI-) in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode.

Main Results:

• Achieved excellent linearity (r ≥ 0.99) and low limits of detection/quantitation (LODs/LOQs: 0.02/0.04 ng/mL).
• Demonstrated high accuracy (92.1%-108.4% recovery) and precision (RSDs 2.8%-5.6%).
• Trace PFAS were detected in 3 out of 13 commercial DHA products, all below regulatory limits.

Conclusions:

• The developed LC-MS/MS method is reliable for routine PFAS detection in DHA matrices.
• Provides practical technical support for quality control and risk assessment of DHA supplements.
• The method is rapid, sensitive, and applicable to both algal and fish oil.