Determination of perfluorinated carboxylic acids in biological samples by high-performance liquid chromatography

This paper describes a method for the quantitative determination of perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs), perfluorohexanoic acid (C6-PFCA), perfluoroheptanoic acid (C7-PFCA), perfluorooctanoic acid (C8-PFCA), perfluorononanoic acid (C9-PFCA) and perfluorodecanoic acid (C10-PFCA), in biological samples. PFCA in liver homogenates was extracted as an ion pair with tetrabutylammonium (TBA) ion into organic solvent, then the PFCA was derivatized with 3-bromoacetyl-7-methoxycoumarin (BrAMC) and quantified by HPLC with fluorescence detection. This method is applicable for the studies on tissue accumulation and elimination of PFCAs in animals after the administration.