title: N-Nitrosodiethanolamine revisited.
abstract: 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, 1H and 13C 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.
mesh_terms: D002273:Carcinogens / Q000032:analysis*; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002627:Chemistry, Physical; D004052:Diethylnitrosamine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D009602:Nitrosamines / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D002273:Carcinogens; D009602:Nitrosamines; C014129:N-nitrosodiethanolamine; D004052:Diethylnitrosamine