Preliminary investigation by LC-MS/MS of perfluorinated compounds presence in basses reared and fished in Italy

The term perfluorinated (PFCs) defines synthetic fully-fluorinated compounds; since the ‘50s they have been largely employed in a wide range of industrial and consumer applications, due to their chemical and physical properties. Only recently researches on their potential adverse effects on both the environment and human health have been conducted, highlighting carcinogenic activity, toxic effects on reproduction, liver and kidney. Human exposure to PFCs is mainly through diet, and in particular fishery products are one of the most contaminated food. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are the two most important and investigated compounds of this group. The aim of this work was to carry out a preliminary monitoring on the presence of these two molecules in 50 bass muscle samples, of which 30 reared and 20 fished, collected from different Italian areas of the Mediterranean Sea. The method used was based on an extraction with organic solvent followed by two purification steps: one with salts and one with dispersive solid phase. The extract was finally analysed by means of a UPLC-MS/MS system. Data showed a relevant contamination of this species and evidenced a significant difference of concentrations between fished (PFOS from 112.4 ng/L to >2000 ng/L and PFOA from 3.3 ng/L to 487.0 ng/L) and reared basses (PFOS from 11.1 ng/L to 104.5 ng/L and PFOA from <3 ng/L to 51.4 ng/L). Even if these levels of contamination are sensibly lower than those observed in several studies, fished basses could represent a more relevant source of PFCs exposure in human diet.