Per-and Polyfluoronated Alkyl Substances (PFAS) and the Challenges in Development of a Direct Injection Method by UPLC-MS/MS

The accumulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are rapidly becoming a growing concern to the safety of water intended for human consumption and due to their inherent characteristics possess significant challenges in analysis.

In response to the emerging concerns for these classes of chemicals, the European Commission recently recast its Drinking Water Directive to impose the monitoring of set limits on specified PFAS to come into force for all its member states within two years.

An objective to develop a direct injection method utilizing the ACQUITY I-Class and Xevo TQ-XS was set. This method was to support the additional PFAS raised in the directive not currently included in existing application notes, and to reduce the limit of quantification achievable without the need for lengthy SPE cleanup that is conventionally required for such low levels. An evolving work in progress explores new and existing techniques and technology to get the edge on sensitivity and robustness for these notoriously tricky compounds.

Presenter: Hannah Willmer (Senior Applications Chemist, Waters Corporation)

Hannah Willmer is an applications chemist in the European demo lab, based in Wilmslow, UK. Her main role focuses on application development work for the food and environmental sector.

With a background in bioanalysis supporting the pharmaceutical sector, Hannah further developed a passion for the food industry. She cultivated this enthusiasm in a contract organization for 6 years where she managed a team and developed methods for the analysis of food and supplements from nutritional testing to food safety compliance. She specialized within the pesticides and contaminants department with a focus on infant formula which brings its own challenges such as more stringent regulations and high throughput.

As a former research analyst and Waters client Hannah understands the importance of robust and reliable methods to Waters’ customers and strives to enhance the customers’ experience with the quality comprehensive solutions that are essential to meet the demands in modern testing.