Simultaneous determination of perfluoroalkyl substances and bile acids in human serum using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

There is evidence of a positive association between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and cholesterol levels in human plasma, which may be due to common reabsorption of PFASs and bile acids (BAs) in the gut. Here we report development and validation of a method that allows simultaneous, quantitative determination of PFASs and BAs in plasma, using 150 μL or 20 μL of sample. The method involves protein precipitation using 96-well plates. The instrumental analysis was performed with ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS), using reverse-phase chromatography, with the ion source operated in negative electrospray mode. The mass spectrometry analysis was carried out using multiple reaction monitoring mode. The method proved to be sensitive, robust, and with sufficient linear range to allow reliable determination of both PFASs and BAs. The method detection limits were between 0.01 and 0.06 ng mL(−1) for PFASs and between 0.002 and 0.152 ng mL(−1) for BAs, with the exception of glycochenodeoxycholic acid (0.56 ng mL(−1)). The PFAS measured showed excellent agreement with certified plasma PFAS concentrations in NIST SRM 1957 reference serum. The method was tested on serum samples from 20 healthy individuals. In this proof-of-concept study, we identified significant associations between plasma PFAS and BA levels, which suggests that PFAS may alter the synthesis and/or uptake of BAs. [Figure: see text] ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s00216-019-02263-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.