Determination of perfluoroalkyl acids in seawater and sandworm samples by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Perfluoroalkyls acids (PFAAs) have been emitted in the environment either as manufacturing by products or through degradation of its precursors. Development of efficient identification and quantification of PFAAs in different environmental media is important for environmental and human health risk assessments. In this study, different extraction methods were developed to determine nine (9) different PFAAs in seawater and seawater sandworm Perinereis wilsoni. P. wilsoni extracted using two methods: manual extraction and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE). Solid phase extraction method was used for the clean-up and preconcentration of PFAAs from the marine water samples. High-performace liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to analyze PFAAs concentrations in the samples. Percent recoveries of surrogate (SUR) in marine water samples were between 52 to 72% (blank), 52 to 88% (1 ng), and 56 to 79% (10 ng). Manual extraction of sandworm resulted in 57 to 93% recovery of SUR compounds. ASE extraction gave higher recoveries of SUR compounds (62 to 92%). The developed analytical methods for seawater and sandworm extraction can assure production of good quality PFAAs data.