Analysis of trace PFAS in air using cryogen-free thermal desorption and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

This application note describes the sampling and analysis of a challenging range of trace-level volatile and semi-volatile vapours of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in air. The analytical system used combines modern singlequadrupole gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC– MS) technology and a TD100-xr™ automated thermal desorption (TD) system from Markes International, which operates without a liquid cryogen coolant and complies fully with relevant international standard methods.1–5 Excellent method performance (linearity, repeatability, storage stability, etc.) was demonstrated across the range of compounds tested, including low or sub-ppt detection limits for all compounds.