Analysis of Perfluorooctane Sulfonamidoethanols (FOSEs) and Fluorotelomer Alcohols (FTOHs) in Textiles by LC/MS/MS

Introduction

Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) represent a large collective of chemicals, which have been used widely in textile, leather and other consumer products for their unique water and oil repellent properties. However, PFCs including PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) also become environmental and health concerns. Some components like perfluoro-octanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are regulated as restricted substances in textiles by industrial standards and regulations. LC/MC/MS and GC/MS have been used in analyses of various PFCs or PFAS in various environmental samples and consumer products. A LC/MS/MS method was reported previously for simultaneous analysis of 24 PFCs in textiles. Perfluorooctane sulfonamidoethanols (FOSEs) and fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) belong to less-polar PFCs and may degrade to from PFOs and PFOA. Normally, they are analysed using GC/MS with chemical ionisation (CI) due to their non-polar properties. In this study, an alternative method using LC/MS/MS was developed for the analysis of four FTOHs and two FOSEs in textiles to respond to the recent demands in testing analysis for textile and consumer products.

June 25, 2023 GMT