Compound-Specific, Quantitative Characterization of Organic Fluorochemicals in Biological Matrices

TLDR

Since the early 1980s, the use of nonvolatile fluorinated organic compounds has risen, raising concerns about their environmental fate and bioavailability. The study quantitatively characterizes specific organic fluorochemicals in 65 human sera samples from nonindustrial sources. The authors employed a novel compound‑specific extraction and negative‑ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry approach to quantify trace levels of several commercial fluorochemicals in human sera and liver. The compound‑specific data closely match historical nonspeciated organic fluorine levels reported in 1970, confirming the method’s validity.

Abstract

Since the early 1980s, there has been a steady increase in the use of nonvolatile fluorinated organic compounds for a variety of industrial and commercial applications. The industrial use of these relatively stable compounds has initiated debate over the fate of fluorochemicals in the environment and, ultimately, the bioavailability of these compounds. In this manuscript, we present quantitative results from a study of 65 human sera samples purchased from biological supply companies that provide characterization of specific organic fluorochemicals present in the sera of nonindustrially exposed humans. Summed together, the compound-specific characterization data reported here agree closely with levels of nonspeciated organic fluorine that were originally reported to be present in sera in 1970. The compound-specific method for the extraction of extremely low levels of several commercial organic fluorochemicals from sera and liver with quantitative detection by negative ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry described represents a robust, previously undescribed approach to quantifying specific organic fluorochemicals in biological matrices.