A Simple Method for Monitoring Eight N-Nitrosamines in Beef Jerkys by Gas Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry with One-Step Treatment Coupled to Active Carbon Solid-Phase Extraction

Abstract

A simple method was developed for monitoring eight N-nitrosamines (N-nitrosodimethylamine, N-nitrosomethylethylamine, N-nitrosodiethylamine, N-nitrosodipropylamine, N-nitrosomorpholine, N-nitrosopiperidine, N-nitrosopyrrolidine, and N-nitrosodibutylamine) in beef jerkys by gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry with one-step treatment coupled to active carbon solid-phase extraction. Sample was first treated with barium hydroxide solution, and then the sample solution is cleaned and concentrated using a Sep-Pak AC-2 cartridge. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a DB-1701 capillary column, and mass spectrometry was performed with electron-impact ionization and multiple reaction monitoring. Good linear ranges were obtained for eight analytes in the range of 1–200 ng mL−1 with the coefficient (R 2) higher than 0.999. Limit of detection and limit of quantitation were in ranges of 0.05–0.10 and 0.10–0.30 ng g−1, respectively; at 0.3, 3.0, and 10 ng g−1 spiking levels, the recoveries were 70.1–121.5% with the relative standard deviations at 3.4–17.8%. Comparing with the traditional methods, the merits of the new method are simple, relative procedure and environment-friendly, easy to use, and suitable for routine screening or analyzing samples in batch.