NEXT MEETING: GARDEN GROVE, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 5-9 2024

PFAS, a diverse group of synthetic organofluorine compounds widely used in industrial and consumer products, are persistent and known to bioaccumulate. Before 2021, the EPA only had standardized methods for measuring PFAS in drinking water. EPA 1633 now allows the analysis of 40 target PFAS analytes in various matrices. The final method 1633, posted on the EPA website in January 2024, includes a requirement to separate the retention time of the bile salt Taurodeoxycholic Acid (TDCA) from PFOS by a minimum of 1 minute, regardless of the matrix being analyzed. 

This poster explores the analysis of PFAS according to EPA 1633 final method requirements on LC-MS/MS using UCT’s SelectraCore® C18 HPLC analytical, guard, and delay column. This column contains a coreshell c18 hydrophobic phase – this technology reduces band broadening in the chromatography and backpressure on the HPLC. The challenges throughout the development process included optimizing a practical LC method to separate TDCA from PFOS while maintaining an efficient run time for the analysis and not compromising the integrity of other compounds in the analytical run. The column achieved a run time that was 0.5 minutes shorter than that in the EPA methodology while simultaneously allowing a 1.4-minute separation between TDCA and PFOS.