## 1 Introduction  
Polyfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are a class of anthropogenic emerging persistent organic pollutants that consist of a fully fluorinated hydrophobic alkyl chain attached to a hydrophilic chain end group. The PFCs' carbon-fluorine bond, characterized by strong polarity and strength [1], make them possess peculiar physicochemical properties such as hydrophobicity and resistance to degradation by heat and acid [2; 3; 4]. Owing to their hydrophobic and lipophobic moieties, PFCs are friction-resistant and are used as water and oil repellents [3]. Due to their peculiar chemical attributes, PFCs have cemented their application in consumer products, such as stain-resistant household products, non-sticky cooking utensils, food packaging, cosmetics, personal care products, etc., and industrial applications, such as surface coatings for textiles, metal plating, manufacturing of leather, etc., [1; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7]. The primary purpose of using PFC-treated consumer products as well as industrial products is to improve their durability [3] whilst prolonging their exposure to humans and the environment. Hence, there has been an increase in levels of PFCs detected in aquatic environments [8; 9; 10], posing serious health problems to aquatic life and humans. Studies [3; 5; 11; 12; 13] have indicated that PFCs have been detected ubiquitously in multiple environmental spheres, such as air, water bodies, and soil. Moreover, these contaminants of emerging concern have been detected in food sources, such as livestock and crustaceans [5]. Since PFCs are ubiquitous to aquatic matrices, including drinking water, humans can be exposed to them through drinking water as well as dietary intake [3; 4]. Several works have been reported on human health effects as a result of exposure to PFCs. [PERSON] et al. [13] reported on the nexus between PFCs and human thyroid dysfunction and concluded that PFCs are endocrine-disrupting compounds. Human exposure to PFCs results in thyroid malfunction and/or hormonal imbalance, particularly in pregnant women and neonates [13]. Health effects associated with PFC exposure include cardiovascular diseases, urine acid, thyroid diseases, pediatric atopy, immune toxicity, anxiety, liver damage, kidney disorder, obesity, peroxisome, reduced fertility, fecundity, etc., [3; 5; 10; 13; 14; 15]. Because of the aforementioned human health complications, the production and regulations of PFCs have attracted public attention. According to [PERSON] et al. [14], the 3M company, together with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), announced the phase-out of products containing PFCs with C6 and more, aimed at eliminating long-chain PFCs which have attributes of being very persistent and bioaccumulative. Hitherto, studies are still conducted aimed at understanding the environmental occurrence and fate, as well as human health complications of PFCs. This is attributed to the thousands of PFCs that have been identified and are still being manufactured and used globally [3; 12]. It should be noted that, despite the wide pool of PFCs that have been detected in the environment, global environmental entities are interested in long chain perfluoralkyl sulfonic acids (C\({}_{n}\)F\({}_{2n+1}\)SO\({}_{3}\)H, \(n\geq 6\)) (PFSAs) and perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (C\({}_{n}\)F\({}_{2n+1}\)COOH, \(n\geq 7\)) (PFCs) and their corresponding anions. The aforementioned PFCs have demonstrated to be more bioacccumulative compared to their short chain analogues reported by [PERSON] et al. [4] and [PERSON] et al. [16]. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) are conventional PFCs and the most detected perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in the environment [17; 18]. The high levels of PFOA and PFOS in the environment are attributed to their xenobiotic characteristics, as reported by many researchers, which makes their complete eradication almost impossible.