The Effects of Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA) in Humans: A Rapid Review

Wipplinger, Jörg; Meusburger, Lukas; Dottolo, Elisabeth; Galazka, Sonia; Brunner, Lena; Füreder, Alice; Kundratitz, Viktoria; Rainer, Karin; Rauscher-Gabernig, Elke; Sarka, Marlene; Pleiner-Duxneuner, Johannes

doi:10.3390/life15121825

Open AccessReview

The Effects of Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA) in Humans: A Rapid Review

by

Jörg Wipplinger

^*,

Lukas Meusburger

,

Elisabeth Dottolo

,

Sonia Galazka

,

Lena Brunner

,

Alice Füreder

,

Viktoria Kundratitz

,

Karin Rainer

,

Elke Rauscher-Gabernig

,

Marlene Sarka

and

Johannes Pleiner-Duxneuner

AGES—Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Spargelfeldstraße 191A, 1220 Vienna, Austria

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Life 2025, 15(12), 1825; https://doi.org/10.3390/life15121825

Submission received: 24 October 2025 / Revised: 20 November 2025 / Accepted: 25 November 2025 / Published: 28 November 2025

(This article belongs to the Section Pharmaceutical Science)

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Abstract

Human studies involving exposure to trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and the associated clinical outcomes are typically not considered in standard chemical toxicity assessments. This review aimed to identify and synthesize all available human data on TFA exposure, regardless of study design or context. Given TFA’s long-standing use and its formation as a degradation product of various compounds, a wide range of exposure scenarios was considered, including post-anesthesia monitoring, environmental assessments, and chemical incidents. The database searches in MEDLINE (PubMed) and EMBASE (Scopus) were conducted on 28 and 29 April 2025. A total of 17 studies met the inclusion criteria: 4 case reports, 3 case series, 5 observational studies, and 5 pharmacokinetic studies. All studies documented clear human exposure to TFA and reported at least one TFA-related outcome. Some acute exposures exceeded the currently proposed threshold values. However, no study demonstrated clinically relevant effects attributable to TFA. As a strong acid, TFA can cause typical corrosive injuries upon direct contact, but no additional systemic or organ-specific toxic effects were observed.

Keywords: trifluoroacetic acid; TFA; halothane; PFAS; human; toxicity

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MDPI and ACS Style

Wipplinger, J.; Meusburger, L.; Dottolo, E.; Galazka, S.; Brunner, L.; Füreder, A.; Kundratitz, V.; Rainer, K.; Rauscher-Gabernig, E.; Sarka, M.; et al. The Effects of Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA) in Humans: A Rapid Review. Life 2025, 15, 1825. https://doi.org/10.3390/life15121825

AMA Style

Wipplinger J, Meusburger L, Dottolo E, Galazka S, Brunner L, Füreder A, Kundratitz V, Rainer K, Rauscher-Gabernig E, Sarka M, et al. The Effects of Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA) in Humans: A Rapid Review. Life. 2025; 15(12):1825. https://doi.org/10.3390/life15121825

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wipplinger, Jörg, Lukas Meusburger, Elisabeth Dottolo, Sonia Galazka, Lena Brunner, Alice Füreder, Viktoria Kundratitz, Karin Rainer, Elke Rauscher-Gabernig, Marlene Sarka, and et al. 2025. "The Effects of Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA) in Humans: A Rapid Review" Life 15, no. 12: 1825. https://doi.org/10.3390/life15121825

APA Style

Wipplinger, J., Meusburger, L., Dottolo, E., Galazka, S., Brunner, L., Füreder, A., Kundratitz, V., Rainer, K., Rauscher-Gabernig, E., Sarka, M., & Pleiner-Duxneuner, J. (2025). The Effects of Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA) in Humans: A Rapid Review. Life, 15(12), 1825. https://doi.org/10.3390/life15121825

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The Effects of Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA) in Humans: A Rapid Review

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