A Review of Research Progress on the Preparation and Analytical Methods of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Groundwater

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of synthetic chemicals listed as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and emerging contaminants, drawing critical environmental concern globally. PFAS have been widely detected in aquatic environments worldwide, posing potential risks to aquatic organisms, human health, and ecological safety. The trace-level concentrations of PFAS in groundwater present significant challenges for the sensitivity and accuracy of current monitoring methods. However, existing techniques suffer from insufficient sensitivity and high operational complexity, making them inadequate for comprehensive monitoring and necessary for further optimization. To address these issues, this review reports the recent advancements in monitoring methods for typical PFAS in groundwater, focusing on sample collection, sample preparation, and analytical detection techniques. For groundwater sampling, newly developed passive sampling provides the possibility of low-cost continuous monitoring of groundwater. For groundwater sample pretreatment, new automatic technologies such as membrane solid phase extraction and dispersive solid phase extraction have greatly reduced the preparation time compared with the current SPE method. For detection methods, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is still the major option for quantitative detection of PFAS while non-targeted screening of HR-MS allows the identification of PFAS in groundwater without standards. Meanwhile, application of sensor detection provides new means for the rapid detection of groundwater in the field. Future research should focus on the development and improvement of high-throughput and automatic pretreatment methods combined with sensitive, accurate and specific detection methods for PFAS.