Determination of perfluorinated compounds in aquatic organisms: a review

Abstract

Bioaccumulation of PFAS in aquatic organisms is an environmental problem of growing concern around the world. This problem has been tackled by regulatory bodies by proposing EQS for biota in EU water bodies and tolerable daily intake for food. The introduction of regulatory limits requires the availability of harmonised and validated analytical methods of sufficient sensitivity. This paper reviews recent advances in analytical methods for analysis of PFAS in aquatic organisms. The methods available for biota analysis are mostly based on three extraction procedures: ion-pair extraction, solvent liquid extraction, and alkaline digestion. The resulting extracts are then subjected to different clean-up or enrichment steps on solid adsorbents, for example graphitized carbon black, C(18), and WAX phases. All methods reviewed in this work give reliable results but are partially validated only, because of the lack of certified reference materials and regular interlaboratory exercises. The few interlaboratory exercises performed on real unspiked samples did not afford satisfactory results for PFAS other than PFOS, especially for matrices with high lipid content, for example mussels. The reasons for those partially negative results have been identified, and can mainly be attributed to calibration procedures and availability and purity of standards. The urgent need for certified reference materials for this type of analysis is emphasized.