title: Quantitative analysis of five tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines in urine by liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure ionization tandem mass spectrometry.
abstract: A liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of five total tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines (TSNA), including free and conjugated forms in urine. The limits of detection for 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol, N'-nitrosonornicotine, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone, N'-nitrosoanatabine and N'-nitrosoanabasine were 0.6, 0.6, 10.0, 0.4 and 0.4 pg/mL, respectively, with a linear calibration range of up to 20,000 pg/mL. Intra- and inter-day precision for TSNA measurements ranged from 0.82 to 3.67% and from 2.04 to 7.73% respectively. For total TSNAs, the β-glucuronidase amount was optimized for hydrolysis time and yield. Different liquid chromatography columns and mobile phases with different pH conditions were evaluated. The validated method was then applied to 50 smoker and 30 nonsmoker urine samples. Our results suggest that this sensitive and relatively simple analytical method is suitable for application to epidemiological investigations of health risks associated with the exposure to tobacco smoke or secondhand smoke in both smokers and nonsmokers.
authors.affiliation: Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, NE, Atlanta, GA, 30341, USA.
authors.forename: Baoyun
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Keegan J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Nicodemus
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Tonya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Guillot
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D005966:Glucuronidase; D006801:Humans; D006868:Hydrolysis; D057230:Limit of Detection; D054802:Molecular Imprinting; D009602:Nitrosamines / Q000737:chemistry / Q000652:urine*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012907:Smoking / Q000652:urine*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D009602:Nitrosamines; D005966:Glucuronidase
keywords: liquid-chromatography tandem mass spectrometry; molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP); smoker urine; tobacco-specific nitrosamines