Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are anthropogenic compounds present in a wide range of consumer products such as nonstick pans and food packaging. These chemicals have been identified as Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) because they are both environmentally toxic and persistent, as well as bioaccumulative in living organisms. PFAS do not accumulate in fatty tissue but rather in predominantly protein dense compartments, such as the liver, kidneys, and blood due to their oleophobic properties. Therefore, PFAS-protein binding studies are important in assessing their bioaccumulative potential. Human serum albumin (HSA) is the most abundant transporter protein in the human body and has been reported as a major binding protein of PFAS in the blood and as a target for bioaccumulation studies. The goal of this study is to determine PFAS-HSA protein-water distribution coefficients (KPW) for both legacy and replacement PFAS. A high-throughput equilibrium dialysis method is used under physiological conditions (temperature and pH), coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), to quantify KPW values for a variety of PFAS with HSA. This approach allows us to investigate relationships between PFAS structure and HSA binding. The method has been validated by quantifying a log KPW value for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)-HSA binding (4.17 ± 0.04) that agrees with literature values for PFOA-bovine serum albumin (BSA) binding determined using an equilibrium dialysis technique. Ongoing studies are focused on applying this high-throughput equilibrium dialysis method to determine KPW values for a variety of legacy and replacement PFAS in order to investigate their relative bioaccumulative potentials.

Investigating interactions of per- and polyfluoroalkyl acids (PFAS) with human serum albumin using equilibrium dialysis

ACS Spring 2022

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