Ella Trevino
Research Mentor: Katherine Manz
Mentor Department: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Public Health
Author(s): Ella Trevino, Siyu LI, Katherine Manz
Session: Session 6 (3:00 PM – 3:50 PM)
Presentation Type: Poster 79
Abstract
Introduction: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals widely used for their chemical and thermal stability. Due to resistance to degradation, PFAS have become persistent contaminants, resulting in considerable human exposure and associated adverse health effects. In assessing PFAS exposure, human breast milk is a biological matrix that can reflect both maternal chemical burden and transfer to infants. While the presence of PFAS in human milk is widely documented, the specific health implications and risks associated with this early-life exposure remain unclear. This study addresses the gap by extracting and analyzing human breastmilk samples to quantify concentrations of ~40 PFAS, thereby helping to develop an understanding of lactational transfer of PFAS and to further assess potential exposure risks for both mothers and infants. Method: PFAS were extracted from human milk samples using liquid-liquid extraction coupled with solid phase extraction. Each milk aliquot was spiked with a mass-labeled PFAS internal standard and treated with formic acid and acetonitrile. The mixture was vortexed, sonicated, and centrifuged to facilitate protein precipitation. The non-fatty supernatant was collected, and the steps were repeated to achieve maximum recovery. The combined supernatant samples were passed through SPE cartridges to remove complex matrix interferences. The final SPE eluate was evaporated using nitrogen gas in a water bath, then reconstituted in 15% methanol, and analyzed by liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectroscopy (LC-HRMS). Quantitative analysis was performed on TraceFinder software. Anticipated Results/Findings: Our experiment aims to optimize methods of extracting PFAS from human milk. By achieving higher recovery, the levels of PFAs in human breast milk can be further investigated to assess their potential impact on infant health. Additionally, our extraction efforts aim to detect PFAs not yet identified in human milk samples using non-targeted analysis. Conclusion: Our results will support and expand on existing research, enabling further investigation into the biological pathways through which PFAS enter and affect the human body. Long-term regional analysis of PFAS levels in human breast milk can offer valuable insights into the causes of exposure and the correlation between exposure and adverse health trends.
