Evaluation of perfluorinated alkyl substance contamination of infant formula using covalent organic framework

Globally, perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) are widespread contaminants that cause significant harm to human health and the environmental. Infant formula is a significant route of PFASs exposure for infants and young children. A reliable method for determining nine PFASs was established using a spherical porous covalent organic framework (COF) as an adsorbent, couple with dispersive solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analysis. The prepared COF achieved excellent extraction efficiencies (92.62%-101.71%) for the target PFASs, which is mainly attributed to hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding effects. A total of 184 infant formula samples were collected and analyzed to evaluate the potential health risks associated with PFASs to consumers. PFASs were detected in 47.3% of the samples, and 23.9% of the tested samples were contaminated with two or more PFASs. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method for extracting trace levels of PFASs from infant formula, emphasizing the importance of monitoring PFAS contamination in infant foods.