Bioavailability and Bioaccumulation of 6:2 Fluorotelomer Sulfonate, 6:2 Chlorinated Polyfluoroalkyl Ether Sulfonates, and Perfluorophosphinates in a Soil–Plant System

• Published in: Journal of agricultural and food chemistry Vol. 68; no. 15; pp. 4325 - 4334
• Main Authors: Zhou, Jian, Li, Min, Li, Jiaqian, Shao, Zixuan, Liu, Yiman, Wang, Tiecheng, Zhu, Lingyan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 15-04-2020
• Subjects: Bioaccumulation; Biological Availability; Crops, Agricultural - chemistry; Crops, Agricultural - metabolism; Cucurbita - chemistry; Cucurbita - metabolism; Fluorides - chemistry; Fluorides - metabolism; Glycine max - chemistry; Glycine max - metabolism; Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated - chemistry; Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated - metabolism; Molecular Structure; Plant Roots - chemistry; Plant Roots - metabolism; Plant Shoots - chemistry; Plant Shoots - metabolism; Soil - chemistry; Soil Pollutants - chemistry; Soil Pollutants - metabolism; Sulfuric Acids - chemistry; Sulfuric Acids - metabolism; Triticum - chemistry; Triticum - metabolism; Zea mays - chemistry; Zea mays - metabolism; soil; bioavailability; accumulation; plants; emerging PFASs; protein
• ISSN: 0021-8561; 1520-5118
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.0c00542

As emerging alternatives of legacy perfluoroalkyl substances, 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate (6:2 FTS), 6:2 chlorinated polyfluoroalkyl ether sulfonates (6:2 Cl-PFESA), and perfluorophosphinates (C6/C6 and C8/C8 PFPiAs) are supposed to be partitioned to soil and highly persistent in the environment. The uptake of novel per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) by plants represents a potential pathway for their transfer in the food chain. In this study, the bioavailability of these four novel PFASs in soil and the bioaccumulation characteristics in greenhouse-grown wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), maize (Zea mays L.), soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill), and pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima L.) were investigated. The results indicated that these novel PFASs with higher hydrophobicity were more easily sequestrated in soil, and the fractions extracted by methanol could well describe their bioavailability, which could be stimulated by low-molecular-weight organic acids at rhizospheric concentrations. A negative relationship was found between root soil concentration factors (RSCFs) and hydrophobicity (log K ow) of the target PFASs. This correlation was also found in the translocation factors (TF) from roots to shoots. Furthermore, the uptake and transfer of the target PFASs were regulated by the protein contents in plant roots and shoots.