Capillary electrophoresis separation of heterocyclic nitrosoamino acid-conformers at sub-ambient temperatures

The separation of a selected group of naturally occurring, heterocyclic nitrosoamino acids was achieved by capillary zone electrophoresis and the resolution of the syn and anti conformers improved as the temperature was lowered to 5 °C. The double peaks observed for each nitrosoamino acid are probably caused by the slow kinetics of conformational isomerism. The experimental setup consisted of a P/ACE 5510 electrophoresis system, a 57 cm polyacrylamidecoated capillary, and a 10 mM phosphate buffer, pH 7.2, containing 2 mM of 3-(N-N-dimethylmyristylammonio)propanesulfonate (DMMAPS) and 0.1% Tween 20. Our study shows that (a) the lower the temperature, the greater the resolution and the longer the migration times; and (b) different nitrosoamino acid conformers were resolved at different temperatures because of differences in the rate of isomerization. For example, the conformers of N-nitrosothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid were partially resolved at 30 °C while those of N-nitrosoproline were well resolved at the same temperature.     

高效液相色谱串联质谱法测定含藻水氯化消毒后7种亚硝胺物质

采用液相色谱串联质谱法(LC/MS/MS)测定含藻水氯消毒产生7种亚硝胺类(NAms)消毒副产物(NDMA,NMEA,NDEA,NDPA,NDBA,NPyr,NPip).方法检出限分别为5.0,14,8.6,3.6,2.9,6.3和4.9 ng/L,相关系数r＞0.999.除NDBA回收率(60％)较低外,其余6种亚硝胺回收率均在80％～120％之间,相对标准偏差为1.4％～12.6％.分别以藻原液和消毒后藻液配制基质标准曲线,采用其与纯水标准曲线斜率之比评估基质效应.藻原液的基质效应为0.79 ～0.94,藻液消毒后NDMA基质效应为0.36,其他亚硝胺为0.63～0.96.应用此方法检测了自来水、富营养江河水、景观水及藻类悬浮液氯消毒后的亚硝胺含量.     

Determination of volatile nitrosamines in meat products by microwave-assisted extraction and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were evaluated for use in the extraction and preconcentration of volatile nitrosamines in meat products. Parameters affecting MAE, such as the extraction solvent used, and DLLME, including the nature and volume of the extracting and disperser solvents, extraction time, salt addition and centrifugation time, were optimized. In the MAE method, 0.25g of sample mass was extracted in 10mL NaOH (0.05M) in a closed-vessel system. For DLLME, 1.5mL of methanol (disperser solvent) containing 20μL of carbon tetrachloride (extraction solvent) was rapidly injected by syringe into 5mL of the sample extract solution (previously adjusted to pH 6), thereby forming a cloudy solution. Phase separation was performed by centrifugation, and a volume of 3μL of the sedimented phase was analyzed by GC-MS. The enrichment factors provided by DLLME varied from 220 to 342 for N-nitrosodiethylamine and N-nitrosopiperidine, respectively. The matrix effect was evaluated for different samples, and it was concluded that sample quantification can be carried out by aqueous calibration. Under the optimized conditions, detection limits ranged from 0.003 to 0.014ngmL(-1) for NPIP and NMEA, respectively (0.12-0.56ngg(-1) in the meat products).     

A theoretical study of thermodynamics and kinetics of nitrosamines: a potential no carrier

In this theoretical study, several hybird DFT functionals and MP2 method are used to investigate the properties and the kinetics of a series of nitrosamines. The results show SN or NS transnitrosation reaction to be more favorable via an S_N2-like pathway. The stability is predicted to be in the order of H₂NNO > cis-MeHNNO > trans-MeHNNO > Me₂NNO > trans-PhHNNO > cis-PhHNNO > cis-MeSNO > Ph₂NNO > N-methylenenitrous amide, in which Ph₂NNO and N-methylenenitrous amide will be potential candidates for the NO donor. For N-methylenenitrous amide, which has the strongest NO donating strength among the titled nitroamines, a nearly perpendicular configuration between H₂C=N and NO can plausibly be rationalized by the fact that lone pair of the nitrogen atom on the fragment H₂CN must be π-type, not σ-type, to form a mesomeric effect with π*N-O of the NO group. Using the polarizable continuum model to consider the water solvent effect, all the barriers and endothermicities of the transnitrosation reactions are decreased and the correlated %N–H and %N–S are decreased and increased.     

Rapid and sensitive gas chromatography–ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines in secondhand smoke

Tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) are some of the most potent carcinogens in tobacco and cigarette smoke. Accurate quantification of these chemicals is needed to help assess public health risks. We developed and validated a specific and sensitive method to measure four TSNAs adsorbed to model surfaces and secondhand smoke (SHS) particles using gas chromatography–ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry. In an 18-m³ room-sized chamber, a smoking machine generated realistic concentrations of SHS that were actively sampled on Teflon-coated fiber glass (TCFG) filters, and passively sampled on cellulose substrates. A simple solid–liquid extraction protocol using methanol as solvent was successfully applied to both substrates with recoveries ranging from 85 to 115%. For each TSNA, tandem MS parameters were optimized and the major fragmentation pathways were elucidated. The method showed excellent performance, with a linear dynamic range from 2 to 1000 ng mL⁻¹, low detection limits (S/N > 3) of 30–300 pg mL⁻¹ and precision with experimental errors below 10% for all compounds. Moreover, no interfering peaks were observed, indicating a high selectivity of MS/MS without the need for a sample clean-up step. This method provides a suitable analytical tool to detect and quantify traces of TSNA in indoor environments polluted with SHS.     

Reduction of N‐Nitrosaminoquinolinediones with LiAlH4 – an Easy Path to New Tricyclic Benzoxadiazocines

3‐Butylaminoquinolinediones ( 1 ) react with NaNO₂ in AcOH to give the corresponding N‐nitrosoderivatives ( 2 ). The analogous reactions of 4‐hydroxy‐3‐butylaminoquinolinediones ( 5 ), prepared by the reduction of 1 with NaBH₄, produce the corresponding nitrosamines ( 4 ). The reduction of both 2 and 4 with Zn under different conditions was non‐productive, but the reduction of both compounds with LiAlH₄ at the oxo and lactame groups yielded impure products, generating new tricyclic benzoxadiazocines ( 9 ) by a reaction with HNCO. All compounds were characterized by IR, ¹H‐, and ¹³C‐NMR (in some cases, ¹⁵N‐NMR also) spectroscopy and EI and/or ESI mass spectrometry. The X‐ray structure of compound 9g was determined.     

Electrochemical Determination of NDPhA via its Electrocatalysis at Porous Au Electrode in Room Temperature Ionic Liquid

N‐Nnitrosodiphenylamine (NDPhA) is a typical kind of nonvolatile nitrosamine. Its electrochemical oxidation occurs usually at relative positive potentials (>1.1 V) even at catalytic noble metal electrodes in aqueous solutions. The formation of oxide and evolution of oxygen at such high potentials makes the analysis of NDPhA on noble metal electrodes difficult. Accordingly, its electrochemical analysis is usually performed in anhydrous organic electrolytes. In this work, room temperature ionic liquid [BMIM⁺] [BF ] acting as electrolyte was introduced in this electrochemical analysis systems. It acts as supporting electrolyte itself, has good solubility of organic compounds, and allows a wide performance potential window of noble electrode, and in turn, highly electrocatalytic noble electrode of platinum or gold can be used as working electrodes. After the investigation of the electrocatalytic behavior of NDPhA at a gold electrode in this room temperature ionic liquid electrolyte, high sensitive determination of NDPhA was designed. It is demonstrated that the electrochemical response of NDPhA is determined by a surface‐controlled process. Therefore, a sensor with high sensitivity was constructed by applying porous Au electrodes with highly electrocatalytic activity and large active surface area. The present approach on one hand broadens the application field of room temperature ionic liquids, and on the other hand provides a sensitive analytical method for environmental detection.     

Electroanalytical Determination of N‐Nitrosamines in Aqueous Solution Using a Boron‐Doped Diamond Electrode

The electrochemical methods cyclic and square‐wave voltammetry were applied to develop an electroanalytical procedure for the determination of N‐nitrosamines (N‐nitrosopyrrolidine, N‐nitrosopiperidine and N‐nitrosodiethylamine) in aqueous solutions. Cyclic voltammetry was used to evaluate the electrochemical behaviors of N‐nitrosamines on boron‐doped diamond electrodes. It was observed an irreversible electrooxidation peak located in approximately 1.8 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) for both N‐nitrosamines. The optimal electrochemical response was obtained using the following square‐wave voltammetry parameters: f=250 Hz, E_sw=50 mV and E_s=2 mV using a Britton–Robinson buffer solution as electrolyte (pH 2). The detection and quantification limits determined for total N‐nitrosamines were 6.0×10^?8 and 2.0×10^?7 mol L^?1, respectively.     

A cell-microelectronic sensing technique for profiling cytotoxicity of chemicals

A cell-microelectronic sensing technique is developed for profiling chemical cytotoxicity and is used to study different cytotoxic effects of the same class chemicals using nitrosamines as examples. This technique uses three human cell lines (T24 bladder, HepG2 liver, and A549 lung carcinoma cells) and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells in parallel as the living components of the sensors of a real-time cell electronic sensing (RT-CES) method for dynamic monitoring of chemical toxicity. The RT-CES technique measures changes in the impedance of individual microelectronic wells that is correlated linearly with changes in cell numbers during t log phase of cell growth, thus allowing determination of cytotoxicity. Four nitrosamines, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosodiphenylamine (NDPhA), N-nitrosopiperidine (NPip), and N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPyr), were examined and unique cytotoxicity profiles were detected for each nitrosamine. In vitro cytotoxicity values (IC₅₀) for NDPhA (ranging from 0.6 to 1.9 mM) were significantly lower than the IC₅₀ values for the well-known carcinogen NDMA (15-95 mM) in all four cell lines. T24 cells were the most sensitive to nitrosamine exposure among the four cell lines tested (T24 > CHO > A549 > HepG2), suggesting that T24 may serve as a new sensitive model for cytotoxicity screening. Cell staining results confirmed that administration of the IC₅₀ concentration from the RT-CES experiments inhibited cell growth by 50% compared to the controls, indicating that the RT-CES method provides reliable measures of IC₅₀. Staining and cell-cycle analysis confirmed that NDPhA caused cell-cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase, whereas NDMA did not disrupt the cell cycle but induced cell death, thus explaining the different cytotoxicity profiles detected by the RT-CES method. The parallel cytotoxicity profiling of nitrosamines on the four cell lines by the RT-CES method led to the discovery of the unique cytotoxicity of NDPhA causing cell-cycle arrest. This study demonstrates a new approach to comprehensive testing of chemical toxicity.