[Detecting perfluorooctanoic acid by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography with pre-column ultraviolet derivatization].

OBJECTIVES To establish a reversed phase high performance liquid chromatographic method with pre-column ultraviolet derivatization for the determination of perfluorooctanoic acids (PFOA) in sewage and urine. METHODS PFOA in sewage and urine formed an ion-pair with tetrabutylammonium (TBA) and were extracted into MTBE. The PFOA then reacted with omega-bromoacetophenone (omega-BAP) in acetonitrile and produced materials quantifiable by HPLC with UV detector. RESULTS The detection limit of the proposed method was 7.0 microg/L with a relative standard deviation of less than 10%. The recoveries for real samples ranged from 85.3% to 116%. CONCLUSION The proposed method is suitable for the determination of PFOA in sewage and urine.