AppBrief 17: Determination of PFAS in Aqueous Environmental Samples by US EPA 1633 (4th Draft) Using an Automated FREESTYLE™ XANA™ -PFAS SPE Tabletop System

Abstract

Water quality is of the utmost importance, and recently, the importance of analyzing aqueous environmental samples for emerging contaminants had been brought to light. Among the emerging compounds of interest are per- and polyflourinated alkyl substances (PFAS), which have been found to be persistent environmental contaminants derived from various industries. For example, perflourooctane sulfonate (PFOS) has been used in several industries, including the semiconductor and photographic industries, in some firefighting foams, and hydraulic fluids used in the aviation industry. Modern analytical laboratories specializing in these types of analyses are looking to automation to help increase sample throughput while ensuring the high quality of the resulting data.

The following application note shows how the FREESTYLE XANA-PFAS Tabletop robotic system can fully automate the preparation of aqueous samples for LC-MS/MS analysis according to the SPE-based method described in US EPA 1633 (4th draft) Method. The resulting extracts are introduced into LC-MS/MS instrument for detection and quantification.

Keywords

Sample Preparation, LC-MS/MS, High Throughput Lab Automation, PFAS