Rapid characterization of perfluoralkyl carboxylate, sulfonate, and sulfonamide isomers by high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A rapid (<23 min) new HPLC–MS/MS method was developed for simultaneous characterization of 24 per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds in landfill leachate. In addition to isomer-specific analysis of perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoate, branched from linear isomer separation was accomplished for C6 and C10 perfluoroalkyl sulfonates, C6, C7 and C9–C11 perfluoroalkyl carboxylates, perfluorooctane sulfonamide and, for the first time, 3 perfluorooctane sulfonamidoacetates. The method utilizes a fused-core pentafluorophenylpropyl (PFP) stationary phase and is approximately 4 times faster than previous comprehensive isomer-specific HPLC–MS/MS methods. This is the first isomer-specific methodology which can be adopted for routine analysis without sacrificing throughput from lengthy run times or limited target lists.

► A new HPLC–MS/MS PFC isomer separation method was developed.
► The method utilizes a novel pentafluorophenyl propyl fused-core stationary phase.
► Characterization of isomers from three PFC classes was achieved in <23 min.
► PFC isomer profiles in landfill leachate are reported for the first time.