Determination of N-Nitrosodimethylamine in the Smoke of High-Nitrate Tobacco Cigarettes

Abstract

Abstract A gas chromatographic method was developed for the determination of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in cigarette smoke. The NDMA in the smoke of 200 cigarettes was trapped in a solution of sodium hydroxide and separated from most of the smoke components by distillation from acidic and basic solutions. The aqueous solution was extracted for 8 hr. into ethyl ether in a Dean Stark apparatus. To concentrate the solution of NDMA, the ether was distilled until only 5 ml of the solution remained. An aliquot of this solution was analysed by means of a gas chromatograph equipped with a 200-ft. glass capillary column coated with Carbowax 20-M poly(ethylene glycoI). An alkali metal flame ionization detector with a selectivity of 10*/1 for nitrogen compounds to normal hydrocarbons was used. Small amounts (2 ng) of nitrosamines in the presence of large amounts of other compounds were easily detected. N-nitrosodimethylamine-C