Shimadzu launches combustion IC system to screen total PFAS by AOF

Shimadzu Corporation launched a combustion ion chromatograph system on September 1, 2026. An automatic sample combustion unit processes the sample, and the absorption solution it produces is injected automatically into an ion chromatograph for analysis.

The system does not measure individual compounds. It uses the adsorbable organic fluorine (AOF) method to screen the total amount of organic fluorine in a sample, in other words total PFAS. With an optional syringe pump for calibration, the system dilutes a standard solution automatically to prepare the concentrations for a calibration curve, which Shimadzu says reduces manual preparation.

PFAS analysis comes in two kinds. LC-MS/MS quantifies individual substances such as PFOS and PFOA one by one. Its results can be checked directly against regulatory limits, so it is the method needed for final decisions. It covers only substances that have reference standards and established methods, though. The compounds grouped as PFAS are said to number more than 10,000, and most have no standard.

Total methods such as AOF cannot say what is present. They can say how much organic fluorine there is altogether. If the total is larger than the sum of the compounds measured individually, something is going unmeasured.

The two approaches do not compete. Labs screen by total first and send samples that flag to individual analysis. Shimadzu's new system serves the first step. Its practical advantage is that combustion through injection runs automatically: the combustion method involves long procedures, and handling the absorption solution is where values tend to drift.

PFAS also reach drug manufacturing. They have been used as water- and oil-repellent materials in filters, tubing, seals and release agents. Extractables and leachables studies already examine what comes out of single-use components. As PFAS regulation takes shape, suppliers will be asked more often whether their parts contain them, which adds a question to supplier qualification.

Shimadzu has not disclosed the price or a sales target. The materials also do not give the limit of quantitation or the time per measurement.