Perfluoroalkyl substances with isomer analysis in umbilical cord serum in China

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a class of widely used chemicals that have been detected in the environment and general population. However, the isomer patterns in human are poorly characterized. Previous studies observed the isomer-specific maternal-fetal transfer of PFASs in human. In our current study, we first examined the profile of PFASs and isomers, including 17 linear PFASs and 10 branched PFOS/PFOA isomers by using isotopic internal standards in umbilical cord serum samples from Guangzhou, China. We collected a total of 321 of cord blood serum samples from July to October in 2013, and analyzed the PFASs concentration with isomer-specific PFASs analysis method. The results showed that 9 out of 17 PFASs (linear PFASs) were detected (>50% detection rate). Perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS, median 3.87 ng/mL) was the predominant, followed by total PFOS (median 2.99 ng/mL) and total PFOA (median 1.23 ng/mL) in cord serum. In addition, 1m-, iso-, ∑3+4+5m-PFOS and iso-PFOA were the branched PFASs detected in the current study. The proportion of linear PFOS (n-PFOS) was 75.16% of ∑PFOS which was similar to the proportion of electrochemical fluorination that produces ca. 70% linear PFOS and 30% branched. On the contrary, linear PFOA (n-PFOA) accounted for 98.69% ∑PFOA in cord serum samples. Our finding indicates distinct PFASs and PFOS/PFOA isomer profile in cord serum, suggesting there might be a different exposure pathway and metabolism of PFASs.