Analysis ofN-nitrosamines in environmental samples by mass spectrometry and gas chromatography mass spectrometry of dansyl derivatives

Reaction of 1-dimethylaminonaphthalene-5-sulphonyl chloride with the secondary amines produced by denitrosation of N-nitrosamines yields dansyl-amides suitable for the mass spectrometric determination of N-nitrosamines. The method has been applied to the quantitative analysis of 3-4 component mixtures of N-nitrosamines. The detection limit was 1 ng with a relative standard deviation of 0.15-0.31. A gas chromatographic mass spectrometric method for the identification and quantification of mixtures of N-nitrosamines was also developed with a detection limit of 1 ng μl−1 and relative standard deviation of 0.12-0.23. These methods are recommended for N-nitrosamine determination in environmental samples and have the advantage that the internal standard can be prepared directly from the respective secondary amine.