ABSTRACT
Nitrosamines can be categorized as volatile or nonvolatile depending on their relative vapor pressures. Volatile nitrosamines are nonpolar, low molecular weight compounds that possess sufficient vapor pressure to allow their removal from a food matrix by distillation. This chapter provides a brief overview of the toxicity, formation, and occurrence of N-nitroso compounds and focuses on the analysis of volatile nitrosamines in foods and beverages. Artifact formation can be monitored by adding a standard amine such as di-n-butylamine to the sample at the beginning of the analysis and measuring the amount of corresponding nitrosamine, i.e., dibutylnitrosamine, that is formed during the analysis. Atmospheric distillation employs the same basic isolation principle as vacuum distillation, but because atmospheric pressures are used the sample temperature is elevated. The N-nitrosamines generally occur at trace levels requiring sample cleanup and concentration for accurate and sensitive quantitation. Vacuum distillation was one of the early sample preparation techniques used for nitrosamine analysis.
