Estudi de la presència i determinació dels PFCs en biota aquàtica

Author

Pineda Puig, Laura  

Abstract

Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are organofluorinated anthropogenic pollutants that are present worldwide in the environment, mainly in the aquatic environment, due to their physicochemical properties. They have a high potential for bioaccumulation and biomagnification capacity along the trophic chain, persistence in the environment and are toxic. Within the perfluorinated compounds there are mainly two groups, the perfluorinated sulfonic acids (PFSAs), such as perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and the perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs), such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Both mentioned, PFOS and PFOA, are the most studied. These compounds have been used for many years in numerous industrial products, for example as additives in detergents, surface protectants and fire fighting foams. They are considered the new generation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), included in the Stockholm Convention in May 2009.
PFCs have been identified at the trace level (ng / g) in both humans and animals. Along the food chain they can be found in marine mammals, such as the polar bear, in fish and birds; also in the lower part of the food chain, as in crabs, oysters and mussels. The compounds with a greater presence in living beings are PFOS and PFOA.
For the analysis of perfluorinated substances, there are different analytical methodologies that can vary both in the preparation of the sample and in the instrumental part. Extractions can be carried out with different methods, such as ion pair extraction or MSPD (solid phase matrix dispersion). On the other hand, all analytical methodologies are based on liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (MS / MS), where what is varied are the chromatographic conditions and the applied gradient. Quantification is carried out by the isotopic dilution method.

 

Director

Díaz Ferrero, Jordi 
Gómez Canela, Cristian  

Degree

IQS SE - Undergraduate Program in Chemistry

Date

2020-06-15