Funded Projects

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large group (>5000 types) of man-made chemicals widely used in commercial, industrial, and military applications because of their high chemical and thermal stability. PFAS are extremely resistant to biodegradation. As a result, human exposure to PFAS is inevitable. Drinking water is an important source because many PFAS are not removed with conventional water treatment. In a recent CDC survey, virtually all individuals tested in the US had detectable PFAS in serum. However, no study to date has reported on the occurrence of PFAS in humans from low- and middle-income countries, who may have different exposure pathways from US populations. PFAS have adverse health effects including decreased immune function, increased cancer risk, impairment in neurodevelopment, and endocrine disruption. However, many studies have examined just two types of PFASs, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS); there is very limited evidence on exposure patterns and health effects of other PFAS. The goal of this proposal is to optimize sample preparation and detection techniques to measure PFAS in serum using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (Orbitrapâ„¢ LC/MS). With the optimized analytical method, we will characterize the variations in chemical structures and quantities of PFASin serum samples (10 each) from a range of global settings. We will use target and non-target analysis with Orbitrapâ„¢ LC/MS to analyze PFAS composition in drinking water from the same regions where the human serum where collected from to determine how closely the profiles of PFAS in water match those in serum. We will investigate correlations of PFAS levels with socio-demographic characteristics of the participants at the individual or community level. Thus, we will generate unique preliminary data for funding proposals to close critical knowledge gaps on the health effects of various types and mixtures of PFAS.