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N ‐nitrosodiethanolamine revisited
Author(s) -
Andersen Jan R.,
Batsberg Walther,
Carlsen Lars,
Egsgaard Helge,
Larsen Elfinn,
Senning Alexander
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
biomedical mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.475
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9888
pISSN - 0306-042X
DOI - 10.1002/bms.1200070506
Subject(s) - computer science , mathematics
N ‐nitrosodiethanolamine is believed to be a weakly carcinogenic chemical, and as it occurs widely—in consumer products for example—it may constitute a significant hazard to humans. However, the chemical evidence concerning the identity, purity and properties of N ‐nitrosodiethanolamine is incomplete, and this casts some doubt on the basis of the current interest in this substance. In the present paper a purification procedure of synthetic N ‐nitrosodiethanolamine based on high‐performance liquid chromatography is given. Other fractionation procedures such as gas liquid chromatography, ambient pressure column chromatography and distillation are shown to be inadequate. The purity and identity of purified N ‐nitrosodiethanolamine is established by means of electron impact and field ionization mass spectrometry, including metastable defocusing and collision induced decomposition techniques. Furthermore, 1 H and 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance and, to a lesser extent, infrared and ultraviolet spectroscopy are used. Deuterium labelled analogues of N ‐nitrosodiethanolamine and the parent diethanolamine are employed in rationalizing the results obtained.