Analysis of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Commercial Pans using High Performance Liquid Chromatograph-Ion Mobility Spectrometry-Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-IMS-MS) (2024)

Undergraduates: Thi Nguyen, Megan Kopti, Charles Soeder, Andrew Parker

Faculty Advisor: Domenic Tiani
Department: Chemistry

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PFAS are synthetic chemical compounds widely used in water- and grease-resistant products, including clothing, furniture, and food contact materials (FCMs). Despite their versatility, the pervasive nature of PFAS raises a public health concern as they can enter the human diet directly through the food chain or indirectly by the migration from the FCMs. In order to evaluate PFAS migration from FCMs under household use and storage conditions, we investigated seven nonstick frying pans advertised as PFAS-free. We heated water to simulate cooking conditions and scratched the pans to mimic everyday wear and tear. HPLC-IMS-MS was then used to analyze PFAS by separating and detecting them based on their polarity, ion mobility and mass-to-charge ratio, providing high sensitivity and structural information. This technique enables the identification and quantitation of both known and unknown PFAS compounds in the complex samples. Eight unique PFAS were detected across all seven pans’ coating and water samples, with 6:2 FTS being the most abundant type. While these PFAS were abundant in coating materials and coating-contained methanol samples (50% in total), their migration into the water after scratching accounted for an average of more than 40% of the PFAS measured per pan. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analysis of the pan disks revealed a fluorine-rich layer consistent with the detection of PFAS. Overall, findings show that scratching the coating, mimicking everyday use over time, greatly facilitates the migration of PFAS into water, suggesting a similar trend would be observed with PFAS migration into food.