Property Estimation of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: A Comparative Assessment of Estimation Methods

To accurately predict the environmental fate of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), high-quality physicochemical property data are required. Because such data are often not available from experiments, assessment of the accuracy of existing property estimation models is essential. The quality of predicted physicochemical property data for a set of 25 PFAS was examined using COSMOtherm, EPI Suite, the estimation models accessible through the US Environmental Protection Agency's CompTox Chemicals Dashboard, and Linear Solvation Energy Relationships (LSERs) available through the UFZ-LSER Database. The results showed that COSMOtherm made the most accurate acid dissociation constant and air-water partition ratio estimates compared with literature data. The OPEn structure-activity/property Relationship App (OPERA; developed through the CompTox Chemicals Dashboard) estimates of vapor pressure and dry octanol-air partition ratios were the most accurate compared with other models of interest. Wet octanol-water partition ratios were comparably predicted by OPERA and EPI Suite, and the organic carbon soil coefficient and solubility were well predicted by OPERA and COSMOtherm. Acid dissociation of the perfluoroalkyl acids has a significant impact on their physicochemical properties, and corrections for ionization were included where applicable. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:775-786. (c) 2020 SETAC