Determination of Trace Perfluoroalkyl Acids (PFAAs) in Soil by Chelating Resin-Assisted Extraction and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-MS)

AbstractPerfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are widely distributed persistent organic pollutants and their monitoring in environmental media has received extensive attention. The soil matrix is complex, and efficient and simple extraction of PFAAs remains a challenge for analysts. In this work, a simple and rapid method has been developed for the determination of 21 PFAAs in soil by chelating resin-assisted extraction combined with high-performance liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). Treatment with chelating resins effectively released PFAAs bound to metal ions, thereby greatly improving the extraction efficiency of PFAAs in soil. The complete extraction procedure only required 30 min. Under the optimized conditions, the quantification limits of the 21 PFAAs were from 0.03 to 0.49 ng/mL. Single PFAAs were detected in soil samples with concentrations ranging from 0.10 to 2.60 ng/g and recoveries between 70 and 126%.Keywords: Chelating resinhigh-performance liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS)perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs)perfluorocarboxylic acidperfluorosulfonic acidsoil analysis AcknowledgmentsThe authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Analysis and Detection Foundation of Science and Technology Department in Zhejiang Province, China (grant numbers: LGC21B050009 and LGC20B050011).Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).