Per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) in textiles using CHROMABOND PFAS
PFAS are often used as additives in the manufacture of textiles due to their unique chemical properties, which makes them ideal for the daily use in (waterproof) textile coatings e.g. carpets, t‑shirts, jeans and outdoor jackets. Despite their advantageous water and dirt repellent characteristics, there is the drawback of toxicity of many PFAS. Therefore, there are now several official regulations (US EPA, DIN, ASTM) for monitoring PFAS in water. For textiles itself, there is currently no official regulation. The market has given itself voluntary regulations for testing the contamination of PFAS in the field of textile and leather, for example Standard 100 from OEKO‑TEX® (1)(2).
Following the OEKO-TEX® recommendation, we have created a new method (based on DIN 38414-14(3)) for the preconcentration and determination of PFAS from clothing (T-shirt, blouse). The 40 analytes are enriched on SPE phase CHROMABOND PFAS and the extracts are subsequently qualified and quantified by HPLC-MS/MS (NUCLEOSHELL RP 18plus). By means of this method, the contents of PFAS in textiles can be successfully characterized even before they are placed on the market.
Access to application note: Solid phase extraction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from clothing
The combination of MACHEREY‑NAGEL’s special solid phase extraction column, CHROMABOND PFAS, with subsequent HPLC‑MS/MS analysis provides a robust method with excellent recovery rates and short run times to monitor these analytes.
In further application notes, we presented a solution for the analysis of PFAS from water(4) and from contaminated soils(5).
Learn more about the background and analysis of poly- / perfluorinated alkyl substances on our PFAS landing page.
(1) Testing Methods, STANDARD 100 by OEKO‑TEX® ‑ International Association for Research and Testing in the Field of Textile and Leather Ecology. Edition 01.2018
(2) Standard, STANDARD 100 by OEKO‑TEX® ‑ International Association for Research and Testing in the Field of Textile and Leather Ecology, Edition 03.2020
(3) German standard methods for the examination of water, waste water and sludge - Jointly determinable substances (group F) Part 42: Determination of selected polyfluorinated compounds (PFC) in water - Method using high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometric detection (HPLC/MS-MS) after solid-liquid extraction (F 42), 2011–03.
(4) Chroma News: Suitable products for PFAS analysis, September 2020
(5) Chroma News: New application note: PFAS from contaminated soils, January 2021
