Determination of perfluorooctanesulfonate and perfluorooctanoate in water samples by SPE-HPLC/electrospray ion trap mass spectrometry

Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) are the most notable members of an emerging class of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), perfluorochemicals (PFCs). A method for the determination of PFOS and PFOA in water samples was developed and validated in this study. Water samples collected from river and industrial effluent at Guangzhou, one of the most industrialized regions in China, were analyzed by solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) negative electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry. Operational parameters of the ion trap mass spectrometer were optimized to improve sensitivity and selectivity of this method. The limits of quantitation and recoveries were 2.0 ng L− 1 and 75% for PFOA and 0.50 ng L− 1 and 88% for PFOS, respectively. In river water samples, 2.3–33 ng L− 1 of PFOS and < 2.0–11 ng L− 1 of PFPA were detected. And sewage effluents contained considerably higher concentrations of PFOS and PFOA.