Applications
PFAS and environmental unknowns
Regulatory PFAS methods quantify a few dozen compounds. Thousands of structures are known and most have no commercial standard. The gap between what is measured and what is present is exactly where feature level recovery helps.
The problem
The gap in pfas and environmental unknowns
Targeted PFAS methods are built around authentic standards, so they quantify a small, fixed panel accurately and ignore everything outside it. The known PFAS universe is far larger than any standard list, and many environmentally relevant structures are transformation products or novel compounds with no reference material. A lab that needs to characterize what is actually in a water, soil, or serum sample cannot do it by extending a targeted panel, because the compounds of interest are unknown features by definition.
How Metablify fits
Recovery and alignment on data you already have
Metablify operates at the feature layer on the data you already acquired, recovering reproducible mass features and aligning them across a cohort so that unknown, standard free signals become tractable objects for characterization. Diagnostic behaviors that suggest fluorinated compounds, such as mass defect patterns, can then be examined on a cleaner, more complete feature table. This is positioned strictly as discovery and characterization, not as regulatory compliance measurement, which requires validated methods and authentic standards.
Who this is for
Where the need is real
Environmental testing labs, consultancies, water utilities, and litigation support teams that need to characterize unknown fluorinated features beyond a regulated panel, and that have budget and urgency to understand exposure and contamination.
What matters
Where this makes a difference
The panel is smaller than the problem
Targeted methods quantify a few dozen PFAS accurately, but the known universe is far larger and full of transformation products with no standard. The compounds of interest are unknown features by definition.
Discovery, not compliance
Metablify characterizes unknown features on data you already acquired. It is a discovery layer, not a validated regulatory method, and it does not replace accredited targeted testing.
No change to acquisition
Diagnostic behaviors such as mass defect patterns can be examined on a cleaner, more complete feature table without reacquiring samples or changing the instrument method.
Questions
Common questions
Can Metablify report regulatory PFAS results?
No. Regulatory PFAS quantification requires validated methods and certified reference standards. Metablify is a discovery and characterization layer that helps you find and align unknown features. It does not replace an accredited targeted method for compliance reporting.
Do I need to change how I acquire data?
No. Metablify works on your existing high resolution LC/MS files. You do not need to reacquire samples or change your instrument method to explore what a targeted panel leaves out.
Keep reading
Related
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Discuss a characterization project for unknown environmental features.