Simultaneous determination of (N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamido ethanol)-based phosphate diester and triester and their biotransformation to perfluorooctanesulfonate in freshwater sediments
Abstract
While (N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamido ethanol)-based phosphates (SAmPAPs) have been proposed as a group of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) precursors, investigation of their occurrence and fate has been limited to SAmPAP diester. In this study, SAmPAP diester and triester were simultaneously determined in freshwater sediment from Taihu Lake using a newly developed UPLC-MS/MS method, and their biotransformation to PFOS in lake sediment was investigated. SAmPAP diester and triester were detected in sediments with a detection frequency of 56% and 88%, and their mean concentrations were 0.24 ± 0.11 ng/g dry weight (dw) and 0.12 ± 0.03 ng/g dw, respectively. The SAmPAP diester/triester ratio in sediment was 1.1 ± 4.2, much lower than that (6.7) observed in the technical product, and the positive correlation was found between the concentrations of SAmPAP diester and PFOS in sediments (r 2 = 0.45, p = 0.01), suggesting that SAmPAP diester would be biotransformed to PFOS in the lake sediment. The microbial degradation test in the lake sediments further clarified that SAmPAP diester was biodegraded to PFOS, but SAmPAP triester was highly recalcitrant to microbial degradation. This study suggests that the occurrence of SAmPAP diester in freshwater lake sediments may be an important precursor of PFOS.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Microbial degradation is considered very important for transformation processes controlling persistence in the environment.
“Microbial degradation is considered to be very important for transformation processes controlling persistence in the environment (Zhang et al., 2018b; Zhan et al., 2018b; Ye et al., 2019; Ye et al., 2020; Huang et al., 2020; Lin et al., 2020).”
From Biotransformation of perfluoroalkyl acid precursors from various environmental systems: advances and perspectives (2021) · cites this paper as Zhang et al., 2018b
Several studies have investigated original PFAS and alternative substances in soil and sediment samples collected from non-firefighting training sites.
“Several studies have investigated original PFAS [61] and alternative substances [62,63] in soil and sediment samples collected from nonfirefighting training sites.”
From Worldwide trends in tracing poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment (2019) · cites this paper as [62]
Cites
Perfluoroalkyl Acids: A Review of Monitoring and Toxicological Findings
Lau, C., Anitole, K., Hodes, C., Lai, D., Pfahles-Hutchens, A., & Seed, J. (2007) · Toxicological Sciences · doi:10.1093/toxsci/kfm128 · Cited by 2,620 · see citing works
A first global production, emission, and environmental inventory for perfluorooctane sulfonate
Paul, A. G., Jones, K. C., & Sweetman, A. J. (2009) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es802216n · Cited by 1,096 · see citing works
Microbial degradation of polyfluoroalkyl chemicals in the environment: A review
Liu, J., & Mejia Avendaño, S. (2013) · Environment International · doi:10.1016/j.envint.2013.08.022 · Cited by 525 · see citing works
Organic carbon decomposition rates controlled by water retention time across inland waters
Catalán, N., Marcé, R., Kothawala, D. N., & Tranvik, L. J. (2016) · Nature Geoscience · doi:10.1038/ngeo2720 · Cited by 437 · see citing works
Zhou, Z., Liang, Y., Shi, Y., Xu, L., & Cai, Y. (2013) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es402120y · Cited by 324 · see citing works
Two-generation reproduction and cross-foster studies of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) in rats
Luebker, D. J., Case, M. T., York, R. G., Moore, J. A., Hansen, K. J., & Butenhoff, J. L. (2005) · Toxicology · doi:10.1016/j.tox.2005.07.018 · Cited by 274 · see citing works
Hu, W. (2002) · Toxicological Sciences · doi:10.1093/toxsci/68.2.429 · Cited by 245 · see citing works
Cao, S., Zeng, X., Song, H. S., Li, H., Yu, Z., Sheng, G., & Fu, J. (2012) · Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry · doi:10.1002/etc.1872 · Cited by 233 · see citing works
Yang, L., Zhu, L. Y., & Liu, Z. (2011) · Chemosphere · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.02.075 · Cited by 230 · see citing works
Production of PFOS from aerobic soil biotransformation of two perfluoroalkyl sulfonamide derivatives
Mejia Avendaño, S., & Liu, J. (2015) · Chemosphere · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.09.059 · Cited by 225 · see citing works
Benskin, J. P., Ikonomou, M. G., Gobas, F. A. P. C., Begley, T. H., Woudneh, M. B., & Cosgrove, J. R. (2013) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es304336r · Cited by 169 · see citing works
Bai, X., Ding, S., Fan, C., Liu, T., Shi, D., & Zhang, L. (2009) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2009.03.018 · Cited by 165 · see citing works
Chen, X., Zhu, L., Pan, X., Fang, S., Zhang, Y., & Yang, L. (2015) · Water Research · doi:10.1016/j.watres.2015.04.032 · Cited by 163 · see citing works
Boudreau, T. M., Sibley, P. K., Mabury, S. A., Muir, D. C. G., & Solomon, K. R. (2003) · Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology · doi:10.1007/s00244-002-2102-6 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Lee, H., & Mabury, S. A. (2011) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es200167q · Cited by 153 · see citing works
Yeung, L. W. Y., Silva, A. O. D., Loi, E. I. H., Märvin, C. H., Taniyasu, S., Yamashita, N., Mabury, S. A., Muir, D. C. G., & Lam, P. K. S. (2013) · Environment International · doi:10.1016/j.envint.2013.06.026 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Polyhalogenated Carbazoles in Sediments of Lake Michigan: A New Discovery
Guo, J., Chen, D., Potter, D., Rockne, K. J., Sturchio, N. C., Giesy, J. P., & Li, A. (2014) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es503936u · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Zhang, Y., Meng, W., Guo, C., Xu, J. F., Yu, T., Fan, W., & Li, L. (2012) · Chemosphere · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2012.03.103 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Toxicity of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and perfluorooctanoic acid to Chironomus tentans
MacDonald, M. M., Warne, A. L., Stock, N. L., Mabury, S. A., Solomon, K. R., & Sibley, P. K. (2004) · Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry · doi:10.1897/03-449 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Habibullah-Al-Mamun, M., Ahmed, M. K., Raknuzzaman, M., Islam, M. S., Negishi, J., Nakamichi, S., Sekine, M., Tokumura, M., & Masunaga, S. (2016) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.07.104 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Pan, G., Zhou, Q., Luan, X., & Fu, Q. S. (2013) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.11.100 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Guo, C., Zhang, Y., Zhao, X., Du, P., Liu, S., Lv, J., Xu, F., Meng, W., & Xu, J. F. (2015) · Chemosphere · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.01.053 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Benskin, J. P., Ikonomou, M. G., Gobas, F. A. P. C., Woudneh, M. B., & Cosgrove, J. R. (2012) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es300823m · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Peng, H., Zhang, S., Sun, J., Zhang, Z., Giesy, J. P., & Hu, J. (2013) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es404867w · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Self-citationYe, F., Tokumura, M., Islam, M. S., Zushi, Y., Oh, J., & Masunaga, S. (2014) · Water Research · doi:10.1016/j.watres.2014.09.014 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Perfluoroalkyl substances in the Maltese environment – (I) surface water and rain water
Sammut, G., Sinagra, E., Helmus, R., & de Voogt, P. (2017) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.02.128 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Zhang, T., Sun, H., Gerecke, A. C., Kannan, K., Müller, C. E., & Alder, A. C. (2010) · Journal of Chromatography A · doi:10.1016/j.chroma.2010.05.061 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Cornelissen, G., & Gustafsson, Ö. (2005) · Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry · doi:10.1897/04-152r.1 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Qi, Y., Hu, S., Huo, S., Xi, B., Zhang, J., & Wang, X. (2015) · Ecological Indicators · doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.04.015 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Yu, N., Wang, X., Zhang, B., Yang, J., Li, M., Li, J., Shi, W. F., Wei, S., & Yu, H. (2015) · Water Research · doi:10.1016/j.watres.2015.02.047 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Worldwide trends in tracing poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment
Nakayama, S. F., Yoshikane, M., Onoda, Y., Nishihama, Y., Iwai-Shimada, M., Takagi, M., Kobayashi, Y., & Isobe, T. (2019) · TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry · doi:10.1016/j.trac.2019.02.011 · Cited by 399 · see citing works
Zhang, W., Pang, S., Lin, Z., Mishra, S., Bhatt, P., & Chen, S. (2021) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115908 · Cited by 280 · see citing works
Langberg, H. A., Breedveld, G. D., Slinde, G. A., Grønning, H. M., Høisæter, Å., Jartun, M., Rundberget, T., Jenssen, B. M., & Hale, S. E. (2020) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.0c04587 · Cited by 122 · see citing works
Langberg, H. A., Arp, H. P. H., Breedveld, G. D., Slinde, G. A., Høiseter, Å., Grønning, H. M., Jartun, M., Rundberget, T., Jenssen, B. M., & Hale, S. E. (2020) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116259 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
Zhang, S., Kang, Q., Peng, H., Ding, M., Zhao, F., Zhou, Y., Dong, Z., Zhang, H., Yang, M., Tao, S., et al. (2019) · Environment International · doi:10.1016/j.envint.2019.02.009 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Self-citationPFAS Biotransformation Pathways: A Species Comparison Study
Kolanczyk, R. C., Saley, M. R., Serrano, J. A., Daley, S. M., & Tapper, M. A. (2023) · Toxics · doi:10.3390/toxics11010074 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Hou, M., Jin, Q., Na, G., Cai, Y., & Shi, Y. (2022) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.2c01287 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Luo, D., Zhang, J., Yin, H., Li, S., Xu, S., & Li, S. (2023) · Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety · doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115374 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Detection methods for sub-nanogram level of emerging pollutants – Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances
Ganesan, S., Chawengkijwanich, C., Gopalakrishnan, M., & Janjaroen, D. (2022) · Food and Chemical Toxicology · doi:10.1016/j.fct.2022.113377 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Poly– and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) - recent advances in the aquatic environment analysis
Zarębska, M., & Bajkacz, S. (2023) · TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry · doi:10.1016/j.trac.2023.117062 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Glaser, D., Lamoureux, E., Opdyke, D., LaRoe, S., Reidy, D., & Connolly, J. (2021) · Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management · doi:10.1002/ieam.4414 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Xiong, J., & Li, Z. (2024) · Environmental Research · doi:10.1016/j.envres.2024.119036 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Yu, L. H., Liu, X., Hua, Z., Zhang, Y., & Xue, H. (2021) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118575 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Soerensen, A., Benskin, J. P., & Faxneld, S. (2024) · Environmental Science and Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.4c03031 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Zhu, H., Xia, Y., Zhang, Y., Kang, Y., Ding, Y., Chen, R., & Feng, H. (2023) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169566 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Wu, S., Yuan, T., Fu, W., Dong, H., Zhang, Y., Zhang, M., Jiang, C., Xu, Q., Zhang, L., & Qiang, Z. (2023) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162471 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
RetractedLiu, S., Dukes, D. A., Koelmel, J. P., Stelben, P., Finch, J. P., Okeme, J. O., Lowe, C. N., Williams, A. J., Godri, D., Rennie, E. E., et al. (2024) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.4c07750 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Use of biological detection methods to assess dioxin-like compounds in sediments of Bohai Bay, China
Dong, W., Wang, F., Fang, M., Wu, J., Wang, S., Li, M., Yang, J., Chernick, M., Hinton, D. E., Pei, D., et al. (2019) · Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety · doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.01.116 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Recycling of paper, cardboard and its PFAS in Norway
Langberg, H. A., Arp, H. P. H., Castro, G., Asimakopoulos, A. G., & Knutsen, H. (2024) · Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters · doi:10.1016/j.hazl.2023.100096 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Langberg, H. A., Choyke, S. J., Hale, S. E., Koekkoek, J. C., Cenijn, P. H., Lamoree, M. H., Rundberget, T., Jartun, M., Breedveld, G. D., Jenssen, B. M., et al. (2023) · Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry · doi:10.1002/etc.5777 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Heo, D., Lee, D.-C., Kwon, Y., Seol, M., Moon, J. S., Chung, S. M., & Kim, J. (2022) · Journal of Chromatography B · doi:10.1016/j.jchromb.2022.123138 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Fluorine-tailed glass fibers for adsorption of volatile perfluorinated compounds via F-F interaction
Song, Y., Wu, Y., Wu, D., Ma, X., Jiang, S., Peng, Z., Zhang, C., Yin, Y., & Guo, R. X. (2023) · Environment International · doi:10.1016/j.envint.2023.108205 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Fredriksson, F., Kärrman, A., Eriksson, U., & Yeung, L. W. Y. (2024) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.4c01844 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Point, A. D., Crimmins, B. S., Holsen, T. M., Fernando, S., Hopke, P. K., & Darie, C. C. (2023) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162337 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Degradation of Perfluorooctane Sulfonamide by Acinetobacter Sp. M and Its Extracellular Enzymes
Hao, J., Wang, P., Kang, Y., He, H., Luo, H., Kim, S., Niu, L., Jiang, H., & Ma, K. (2019) · Chemistry - An Asian Journal · doi:10.1002/asia.201900638 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Flaxseed Oil Alleviates PFOS-Induced Liver Injury by Regulating Hepatic Cholesterol Metabolism
Ren, J., Zuo, J., Yin, B., Huang, D., Wen, R., Pei, H., Liu, J., Zhang, Y., Zhu, S., Zhen, S., et al. (2024) · Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry · doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.4c04438 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Lei, Q., Niu, L., Tang, Z., Shi, Y., Zhao, X., & Cai, Y. (2025) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2025.127064 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Wijayahena, M. K., & Aga, D. S. (2026) · The Analyst · doi:10.1039/d5an01246e · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Campo, J., & Picó, Y. (2022) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781119763895.ch6 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Collection, S. X. D., Zheng, Y., Zhang, C., Chen, F., Song, Y., Zhang, F., Zhang, S., Liu, P.-M., Meng, L., Xu, L.-X., et al. (2023) · Thermal Science and Engineering Progress · doi:10.1016/j.tsep.2023.102012 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self-citationRen, J., Li, L., Wang, Z., Zhu, S., Pei, H., Zhang, Y., Yin, B., Zhang, Z., Sun, X., Guo, H., et al. (2025) · Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety · doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2025.118773 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Design Principles for PFAS Adsorption in Three-Dimensional Covalent Organic Frameworks
Mottern, D., Kolesnikov, A. L., Gor, G. Y., & Young, J. (2026) · The Journal of Physical Chemistry C · doi:10.1021/acs.jpcc.6c01608 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
[Treatment of peripheral sclerosis by surgery of the sympathetic nervous system].
Mandl, F. (1950) · PubMed · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Trends of Perfluoroalkyl Acids in Water Bodies: A Case Study of the Taihu Lake, China (2009-2021)Preprint
Yu, L. H., Liu, X., Hua, Z., Zhang, Y., & Xue, H. (2021) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3928365
Effects of Biotransformation on the Toxicity of Organic Chemicals
James, M. O., & Smeltz, M. G. (2025) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-95488-4.00209-6
Zhao, C., Feng, M., Wang, K., Gao, Y., Zhao, J., & Zhao, S. (2026) · Toxics · doi:10.3390/toxics14070564
- Authors
- Zhang, S., Peng, H., Mu, D., Zhao, H., & Hu, J.
- Affiliations
- Peking University (CN)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Hu, Jianying
- Venue
- Environmental Pollution
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-03
- Volume
- 234
- Pages
- 821-829
- ISSN
- 0269-7491 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2779597230
- Cited by
- 36
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 4
- FWCI
- 1.13
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Environmental Pollution (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Nature Science Foundation of China (41330637)
- International S&T Cooperation Program of China (2016YFE0117800)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Environmental Chemistry and Analysis
- Keywords
- PFOS, phosphate diesters, biotransformation, microbial degradation, freshwater sediments, Taihu Lake, perfluorinated compounds, sediment contamination
- MeSH terms
- Bacteria, Biodegradation, Environmental, Biotransformation, China, Environmental Monitoring, Fluorocarbons, Hydrocarbons, Fluorinated, Organophosphates, Sulfonamides, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Alkanesulfonic Acids, Geologic Sediments, Tandem Mass Spectrometry, Lakes
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
