It is a fluorocarbon derivative and a perfluorinated compound, having an eight-carbon chain and a terminal sulfonamide functional group.

PFOSA, a persistent organic pollutant, was an ingredient in 3M's former Scotchgard formulation[1][2] from 1956 until 2003, and the compound was used to repel grease and water in food packaging[3] along with other consumer applications.

[5] The perfluorooctanesulfonyl fluoride-based chemistry that was used to make sulfonamides like PFOSA was phased out by 3M in the United States (US) during 2000–2002 but it has grown in China by other producers.

[8] In addition, PFOSA is thought to be the biologically active form of the insecticide Sulfluramid (N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamide)[9][10] as it is an extremely potent uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation[10][11] with an IC50 of about 1 micromolar[5] (≈500 nanograms per milliliter or parts per billion).

Wildlife biomonitoring studies have found the highest level of PFOSA in the liver of common dolphin (Mediterranean Sea, Italy) with a concentration of 878 parts per billion; the liver of mink from Illinois, US, contained 590 parts per billion.