Cytotoxicity and cellular uptake of perfluorocarboxylic acids

• Long-chained perfluorocarboxylic acids are more cytotoxic than short-chained.
• Presence of long-chained perfluorocarboxylic acid elevates melanin secretion in melanoma cells.
• Cells take in long-chained pefluorocarboxylic acids better than short-chained.
• Long-chained perfluorocarboxylic acids can enter cells and be released to medium.

To address the health and environmental concerns associated with perfluorocarboxylic acids, the assessment of cytotoxicity and bioaccumulation of perfluorocarboxylic acids is essential. This study investigated the effect of perfluorocarboxylic acids having various chain lengths on mouse melanoma B16 cells. The extent of cytotoxicity of perfluorohexanoic acid (C6), perfluoroheptanoic acid (C7), perfluorooctanoic acid (C8), perfluorononanoic acid (C9) and perfluorodecanoic acid (C10) within a concentration range of 0.25–1600 μg/ml was determined. Based on results, the viability of cells was 90% or higher in the presence of C6, C7, C8 at a concentration of up to 200 μg/ml, indicating that B16 cells are safe in the presence of C6, C7 and C8. On the other hand, moderate cytotoxicity was observed with C9 or C10, even at a relatively low concentration of 25 μg/ml. When cells were incubated in the presence of the same concentration (100 or 200 μg/ml) of perfluorocarboxylic acids, the number of live cells decreased as the perfluoroalkyl chain length increased suggesting that long-chained perfluorocarboxylic acids are more cytotoxic than short-chained perfluorocarboxylic acids. The correlation between cellular uptake and perfluoroalkyl chain length was also investigated. The presence of C6 in the cells was not detected probably because of poor uptake. On the other hand, the presence of C7–C10 in the cells was confirmed and quantified by LC ESI MS. Results showed that cellular uptake of long-chained perfluorocarboxylic acids were significantly higher than short-chained perfluorocarboxylic acids.

Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide