US EPA

6311640 

Journal Article 

Albumin is the major carrier protein for PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, PFNA and PFDA in human plasma 

Forsthuber, M; Kaiser, AM; Granitzer, S; Hassl, I; Hengstschläger, M; Stangl, H; Gundacker, C 

2020 

Yes 

Environment International
ISSN: 0160-4120
EISSN: 1873-6750 

137 

105324 

English 

32109724 

10.1016/j.envint.2019.105324 

WOS:000517970800003 

Perfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances are widespread in the environment and in organisms. The fact that exposure to PFAS is associated with elevated cholesterol levels is a major concern for human health. Previous investigations, in which bovine serum albumin was frequently studied, indicate that PFOS, PFOA and PFNA bind to serum albumin. However, it is critical to know whether these and other PFAS have a preference for the protein or the lipid fraction in native human blood fractions. For this reason, blood samples from four young healthy volunteers (two women, two men, 23–31 years old) were used for protein size separation and fractionation by the Cohn method in combination with serial ultracentrifugation. The plasma fractions were analyzed for 11 PFAS using high-performance tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Although the data are based on a small sample, they clearly show that albumin is the most important carrier protein for PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, PFNA and PFDA in native human plasma. These five compounds have very little or no affinity for lipoproteins. The confirmation of their transport through albumin is important for the epidemiology of PFAS. The present results must be verified by the examination of a larger number of persons. 

Albumin; Human plasma; perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)