Anion exchange polymeric sorbent coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography with UV diode array detection for the determination of ten N-nitrosamines in meat products: a validated approach

Among mechanisms and molecules presumably involved in the carcinogenicity induced by meat consumption, the N-nitrosamines (N-NAs) are a class of compounds characteristic of processed meats. In this work, an analytical method for the determination of ten N-nitrosamines (N-nitrosomorpholine, N-nitrosomethylethylamine, N-nitrosopyrrolidine, N-nitrosodiethylamine, N-nitrosopiperidine, N-nitrosodipropylamine, N-nitrosodimethylaniline, N-nitrosodibutylamine, N-nitrosodiphenylamine and N-nitrosodibenzylamine) in fresh meats and meat products was developed, optimised and validated. The method is based on optimised sample purification by solid-phase extraction (anion exchange polymeric sorbent) and separation/detection by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to UV diode array detection. The validation procedure allowed to ascertaining good analytical performances in terms of sensitivity, selectivity towards interfering compounds, accuracy and robustness. The values obtained for precision (range: 4.3–14.4%) and recovery percentages (range: 80.8–95.1%) were compared to reference values indicated in the Decision No. 657/2002/EC, resulting as compliant. The measurement uncertainty (lower than 14.6%) was satisfactory for each N-NA as well.