Facile and sensitive determination of N-nitrosamines in food samples by high-performance liquid chromatography via combining fluorescent labeling with dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction

The intake of N-nitrosamines (NAs) from foodstuffs is considered to be an important influence factor for several cancers. But the rapid and sensitive screening of NAs remains a challenge in the field of food safety. Inspired by that, a sensitive and rapid method was demonstrated for determination of five NAs (Nitrosopyrrolidine, Nitrosodimethylamine, Nitrosodiethylamine, Nitrosodipropylamine and Nitrosodibutylamine) using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) followed by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC–FLD). The NAs were firstly denitrosated and labeled by 2-(11H-benzo[a]carbazol-11-yl) ethyl carbonochloridate (BCEC-Cl) and finally enriched by DLLME. Furthermore, the main DLLME conditions were optimized systematically. Under the optimal conditions, satisfactory limits of detection (LODs) were obtained with a range of 0.01–0.07 ng g−1, which were significantly lower than the reported methods. The developed method showed many merits including rapidity, simplicity, high sensitivity and excellent selectivity, which shows a broad prospect in food safety analysis.