A new study conducted by a group of 16 Chinese scientists found that trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a byproduct of some fluorinated gases and other substances, hinders the production of energy needed to maintain and grow human blood vessels.
The researchers are affiliated with:
Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Sun Yat-sen University
Guangzhou Medical University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
The team was led by Yanhong Wei of Sun Yat-sen University and Sifei Yang of the Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Trifluoroacetic acid competitively inhibits lactate dehydrogenase, disrupting endothelial glycolysis and impairing vascular development” — published in the September 29, 2026 issue of Environmental Science & Technology .
This is one of the few studies linking TFA to adverse effects on human health. A number of animal studies have also shown harmful effects of TFA, though generally at concentrations exceeding environmental levels. The chemical industry, relying on reports published under the Montreal Protocol, argues that TFA is not harmful to people at either current or projected concentrations.
However, environmental TFA concentrations — in water, soil, air, and leaves — have been steadily rising in recent years. For example, a 2022 study found the median TFA level in Germany’s drinking water to be 1.5 µg/L. This chemical has been detected in food products, beverages, and human blood serum, raising concerns about potential harm to human health.
More recently, average TFA concentrations were measured in human blood serum:
in a firefighter study conducted at Duke University (20.1 µg/kg)
by researchers from North Carolina State University (17 µg/L)
in a European study initiated by the Greens/European Free Alliance group in the European Parliament (21.2 µg/L)
TFA is a two-carbon molecule in which one carbon atom is attached to three fluorine atoms, making it an ultrashort-chain PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance) or “forever chemical” according to the most common definition of PFAS (though not the one used by the U.S. government). TFA is considered the most prevalent PFAS in the environment.
One of the main sources of TFA is the complete and rapid atmospheric breakdown of HFO-1234yf, which occurs due to leaks from automotive air conditioners and other heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems, reinforcing the rationale for using natural refrigerants that do not generate TFA. Other sources of TFA include certain pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and other industrial sources.
Opening the door to TFA
The Chinese study says that TFA’s small structure and its extreme water solubility give it “high accessibility to the innermost layer of the vascular system [blood vessels].” Moreover, it adds: “the vascular system relies on metabolic processes to maintain its function and is particularly sensitive to exposure to environmental chemicals.”
The study indeed found “TFA-induced vascular toxicity,” which “underscores the need to reassess health risks associated with TFA.” The European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) declined to comment on the TFA study.
This is not the first study showing that TFA can bind to proteins and cause disruptions in cellular processes, noted Hans Peter Arp , an environmental chemist at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, in a comment on LinkedIn .
Arp cited a 2025 study showing cognitive impairment in mice after TFA treatment. He had previously cited a 1998 study showing that aquatic organisms incorporate TFA into their biomolecular fractions in such a way that TFA undergoes “metabolic transformation,” as well as a 1999 study that found a low level of incorporation of TFA by natural microbial communities.
“We still have very little data on the levels of trans fatty acids in our bodies, yet the world is being exposed to increasing amounts of them every day.”
Hans Peter Arp, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute
** **One limitation of the Chinese study is that it is based on an in vitro (laboratory) analysis. In an article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) one of the lead researchers, Wei, said at the American Chemical Society’s 2026 conference in Chicago in August that to date no one has measured TFA levels in actual human blood-vessel tissues. “Researchers may need to explore how quickly TFA diffuses from the blood into the endothelial cells lining the inner surface of blood vessels,” the article says.
The study shows “why we need to track not only the rising concentration of TFA in the population’s blood, but also in blood-vessel tissues,” Arp wrote in his LinkedIn comment. “We still have very little data on TFA levels in our bodies, yet the world is being exposed to ever larger quantities of this substance every day, and this will continue for the foreseeable future.”
This is another warning, Arp added, “of the need to begin reducing exposure by phasing out processes and substances that release TFA.” He led a 2024 study that said TFA meets the criteria for a “planetary boundary threat” due to increasing exposure at the planetary scale.
Interfering with energy production ⚡
The Chinese study examined TFA toxicity to blood vessels using human umbilical vein endothelial cells. The study used TFA concentrations consistent with environmental conditions, from 0.8 to 2000 µg/L.
The researchers found that TFA interferes with glycolysis, the primary energy-production mechanism in endothelial cells. In glycolysis, glucose is converted to pyruvate, which is then converted to lactate; the released energy enables cells to produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the cell’s main energy currency. However, TFA exposure reduced lactate and ATP production and thus hindered overall glycolytic flux (glucose breakdown).
** **Notably, the amount of pyruvate, the initial byproduct of glucose breakdown, increased. According to the researchers, this occurred because TFA, rather than pyruvate with a similar structure, interacted with the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), which normally converts pyruvate to lactate. “TFA competitively inhibits LDH, thereby blocking the conversion of pyruvate to lactate and thus reducing ATP production,” the study says.
ATP and lactate concentrations decreased in a dose-dependent manner under TFA exposure. For example:
ATP levels decreased by 7% at a TFA concentration of 0.8 µg/L
by 26% at 2 µg/L
by 45% at 200 µg/L
however, at a TFA concentration of 2000 µg/L ADP levels decreased by 43%
“Environmental concentrations of trifluoroacetic acid likely pose health hazards due to metabolic disruption in the vascular system.”
Study: Trifluoroacetic acid competitively inhibits lactate dehydrogenase, disrupting endothelial glycolysis and impairing vascular development.
The study found that the benchmark dose lower confidence limit values (BMDL 5 ) for TFA — the smallest amount capable of causing an adverse change of 5% — ranged from 0.44 µg/L (lactate) to 2.65 µg/L (ATP), falling within the range of environmentally relevant levels. This suggests that “environmentally realistic concentrations of TFA likely pose health hazards due to metabolic disruption in the vascular system,” the study says.
Along with examining TFA’s effects on human vessels, the researchers investigated the substance’s impact on zebrafish larvae and found that TFA suppresses endothelial migration (movement of blood-vessel cells), causes disruption of cellular F-actin (damage to cellular function), and impairs vascular development.
“Taken together, our studies show that environmentally relevant concentrations of TFA competitively inhibit LDH, suppress glycolytic flux, and impair endothelial migration, resulting in vascular developmental defects,” the study says, adding that the results underscore an “urgent need to enhance monitoring.”
Other in vitro studies 🧪
The China TFA study is not the first in vitro analysis of TFA’s effects on human health. A study conducted by Italian scientists in 202