Emerging perfluoroalkyl substances in environmental waters revealed by non-targeted screening

Abstract

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been widely used since the mid-20th century in industry and everyday household products. They also persist in the environment and bioaccumulate in humans and wildlife. Despite these concerns, the number of PFAS introduced to the global market has rapidly outpaced research on their health impact, and the identities of most PFAS in environmental waters are unknown. Non-targeted screening (NTS) is an innovative mass spectrometry approach that will accelerate the identification of unknown organic pollutants. This review aims to: (i) describe new techniques to identify emerging PFAS (ii), highlight new PFAS that have been identified in environmental waters, and (iii) show potential health effects from studies using novel approaches such as metabolomics and biomedical imaging in animal models.