• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.61 no.2
• /
• pp.51-56
• /
• 2017

N-nitrosamines are the nitroso compounds which are produced by nitrosation reactions of the secondary amine and nitrite under acidic conditions. Approximately 300 species of N-nitrosamine have been tested for carcinogenicity in laboratory experiments, with 90% of them demonstrated carcinogenic effects different animal species, including higher primates. In 1978, IARC classified NDMA and NDEA as Group 2A, and NDPA, NDBA, NPIP, NPYR and NMOR as Group 2B. In this study, we established pretreatment and analytical method for N-nitrosamines (NDMA, NDEA, NMEA, NDPA, NDBA, NPIP, NPYR and NMOR) in human urine for biological monitoring of N-nitrosamines. The analytes were extracted using solid phase extraction (SPE), then quantitative analysis was performed by LC-(APCI)-MS/MS. The accuracies of the established method were between 85.8~108.7% and precisions were lower than 20%. The limit of detection (LOD) were between 0.0002 (NDBA) and 0.0793 (NDMA) ng/ml. The linearity obtained was satisfying for the 8 N-nitrosamines, with a coefficient of determination ($r^2$) higher than 0.999. The mean concentrations of N-nitrosamines in the urine were 2.645 mg/g creatinine for NDMA, 0.067 mg/g creatinine for NDEA, 0.009 mg/g creatinine for NMEA, 0.011 mg/g creatinine for NDBA, 0.271 mg/g creatinine for NPIP and 0.413 mg/g creatinine for NPYR. NDPA and NMOR were not detected. It can be used as a instrumental methodology for evaluation and risk assessment of human exposure to N-nitrosamines for the further research.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.446-453
• /
• 2010

This study was investigated nine nitrosamines in small tributary rivers, sewage treatment plants (STPs) and drinking water treatment plants. They are N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosomethylethylamine (NMEA), N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR), N-nitrosodi-n-propylamine (NDPA), N-nitrosomorpholine (NMOR), N-nitrosopiperidine (NPIP), N-nitrosodi-n-butylamine (NDBA) and N-nitrosodiphenylamine (NDPHA). The nine nitrosamines were analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) using solid phase extraction (SPE) with a coconut charcoal cartridge. Among the nine nitrosamines, NDMA, NMEA, NDEA, NDPA NDBA and NDPHA were detected in small tributary rivers and sewage tretment plants. In small tributary rivers, NDMA, NMEA, NDEA, NDPA, NDBA and NDPHA were obtained as ND~16.4 ng/L, ND~17.7 ng/L, ND~102.4 ng/L, ND~455.4 ng/L, ND~330.1 ng/L and ND~161.0 ng/L, respectively. Also NDMA, NMEA, NDEA, NDPA and NDBA were investigated ND~821.4 ng/L, 22.5~55.4 ng/L, 53.2~588.5 ng/L, ND~56.6 ng/L and ND~527.9 ng/L in STPs, respectively. In drinking water treatment plants, NMEA and NDEA concentration were increased to as high as 38.8 ng/L after ozonation process. However nitrosamines were decreased subsequent biological activated carbon (BAC) treatment process. It was supposed that nitrosamines were formed by $O_3$ oxidation and were removed by biodegradation of BAC.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.36 no.11
• /
• pp.764-770
• /
• 2014

This study assessed analysis of N-nitrosamines by separation, identification, and quantification using a gas chromatography (GC) mass spectrometer (MS) with electron impact (EI) mode. Samples were pretreated by a automated solid phase extraction (SPE) and a nitrogen concentration technique to detect low concentration ranges. The analysis results by EI-GC/MS (SIM) and EI-GC/MS/MS (MRM) on standard samples with no pretreatment exhibited similar results. On the other hand, the analysis of pretreated samples at low concentrations (i.e. ng/L levels) were not reliable with a EI-GC/MS due to the interferences from impurity peaks. The method detection limits of eight (8) N-nitrosamines by EI-GC/MS/MS analysis ranged from 0.76 to 2.09 ng/L, and the limits of quantification ranged from 2.41 to 6.65 ng/L. The precision and accuracy of the method were evaluated using spiked samples at concentrations of 10, 20 and 100 ng/L. The precision were 1.2~13.6%, and the accuracy were 80.4~121.8%. The $R^2$ of the calibration curves were greater than 0.999. The recovery rates for various environmental samples were evaluated with a surrogate material (NDPA-$d_{14}$) and ranged 86.2~122.3%. Thus, this method can be used to determine low (ng/L) levels of N-nitrosamines in water samples.