This Application Brief describes the use of an Agilent 6410 Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (QQQ) to analyze perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). A simple isocratic elution is carried out on a Rapid Resolution High Throughput C18 column (particle size 1.8 µm) with only water and methanol solvents containing 10 mM ammonium acetate. Elution time for standard dilutions of PFOA is only 2.3 minutes. Good linearity over more than 4 orders of magnitude, from 9 fg/µL to 150 pg/µL, is demonstrated with excellent peak area reproducibility of 5.5 % RSD at the 9 fg/µL level. The average peak-to-peak signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio at this level is 7.2. Sensitivity of surface water extracts is expected to be similar.
The document details a method for analyzing Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), a synthetic chemical, using an Agilent 6410 Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer. The analysis employs a simple isocratic elution on a Rapid Resolution High Throughput C18 column with water and methanol solvents containing ammonium acetate.
The method demonstrates good linearity over more than four orders of magnitude, from 9 fg/µL to 150 pg/µL. At the lowest level of investigation (9 fg/µL), the peak area reproducibility is 5.5% RSD with an average signal-to-noise ratio of 7.2.
The lowest level of investigation demonstrated is 9 fg/µL.
The peak area reproducibility at 9 fg/µL is 5.5% RSD.
The method uses negative electrospray ionization (ESI).