Fully automated determination of N-nitrosamines in environmental waters by headspace solid-phase microextraction followed by GC–MS–MS

✍ Scribed by Anna Llop; Francesc Borrull; Eva Pocurull

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 200 KB
• Volume: 33
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1615-9306
• DOI: 10.1002/jssc.201000527

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

A fully automated method for determining nine Environmental Protection Agency N‐nitrosamines in several types of environmental waters at ng/L levels is presented. The method is based on a headspace solid‐phase microextraction followed by GC–MS–MS using chemical ionization. Three different fibers (carboxen/PDMS, divinylbenzene/carboxen/PDMS, and PEG) were tested. Solid‐phase microextraction conditions were best when a divinylbenzene/carboxen/PDMS fiber was exposed for 60 min in the headspace of 10 mL water samples at pH 7 containing 360 g/L of NaCl, at 45°C. All compounds were analyzed by GC–MS–MS within 18 min. The method was validated using effluent from an urban wastewater treatment plant and the LODs ranged from 1 to 5 ng/L. The method was then applied to determine the __N‐__nitrosamines in samples of different complexities, such as tap water and several influent and effluent wastewater samples from urban and industrial wastewater treatment plants and a potable water treatment plant. Although the analysis of influent industrial wastewater revealed high concentrations of some compounds (__N‐__nitrosomorpholine and __N‐__nitrosodimethylamine at μg/L levels), in industrial effluents and other samples, the concentrations were substantially lower (ng/L levels). The new method is suitable for the simple and reliable determination of N‐nitrosamines in highly complex water samples in a completely automated procedure.