A Rapid, Validated RP-HPLC Method for the Determination of Seven Volatile N-Nitrosamines in Meat

The present work reports a rapid reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for the determination of seven volatile N-nitrosamines namely N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosomethylethylamine (NMEA), N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), N-nitrosodiproylamine (NDPA), N-nitrosodi butylamine (NDBA), N-nitrosopiperidine (NPIP) and N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR) for monitoring food safety. A strategic experimental approach was implemented for the method development. The desired chromatographic separation was achieved on a Symmetry C18 (4.6 × 150 mm, 5 μm) column using gradient elution. The optimized mobile phase consisted of the 10 mM ammonium hydroxide pH = 8.9 and acetonitrile. The eluted compounds were monitored at 231 nm wavelength using spectrophotometric detector. The developed method separated seven compounds from each other within a run time of 10 min. The method is effective for the determination of presence of these carcinogenic compounds. The average extraction recovery of seven nitrosamines was found 84.5%; the precision of method was found less than 2.7% and accuracy was found between 95%-102.5%. The assay could be applied in food monitoring safety.