A Deeper Look at PFAS: Eurofins’ Non-Targeted Approach

At Eurofins Environment Testing, we are committed to leveraging cutting-edge technology to meet the evolving data needs of our clients. Most recently, Sarah Choyke, Ph.D., collaborated with ThermoFisher Scientific to publish an Application Note showcasing a non-target workflow for PFAS using a High-Resolution Accurate Mass Orbitrap Mass Spectrometer.

Per and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a diverse class of chemicals that contain at least one fully fluorinated methyl or methylene carbon. According to this definition, there are thousands of suspect PFAS in the EPA CompTox Chemicals Dashboard v2.5.3, many of which lack commercially available standards for traditional targeted analysis.

Non-Targeted Analysis (NTA) is a powerful analytical technique that uses high-resolution mass spectrometry to detect and identify compounds in complex mixtures with minimal prior knowledge of the sample. This approach complements traditional targeted methods by identifying unknown contaminants and reducing false positives—enhancing both risk assessments and environmental protection efforts.

The PFAS NTA workflow was evaluated using samples from the NIST PFAS NTAILS (PFAS Non-Targeted Analysis Interlaboratory Study: https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8544). The workflow integrated open-source PFAS suspect lists and available PFAS fragmentation libraries for comprehensive screening. Advanced data analytics were employed to generate Kendrick Mass Defect plots (KMD), Principal Component Analysis plots (PCA) and Volcano plots for analyte prioritization and data filtering. The Schymanski annotation confidence scale was used to indicate the level of evidence to support each detection.

While PFAS monitoring has traditionally relied on EPA-approved targeted methods, NTA workflows offer valuable insights into overlooked and emerging PFAS and their transformation products. These results may help identify sources and support risk assessments for a wide range of known and unknown chemicals in complex environmental matrices with high mass accuracy.

If you're interested in learning more about PFAS NTA workflows, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

Kendrick Mass Defect plot identify PFAS series of bis-FASI (highlighted in red).

Image of a Precursor PFAS: