Preconcentration of heterocyclic aromatic amines in natural water samples using multiwalled carbon nanotubes and determination by UPLC-MS/MS

CERUTTI, SOLEDAD; CANALES, ROMINA; RETA, MARIO

Rosario - Santa Fe

Simposio; 2nd Latin American Metabolic Profiling Symposium 2016; 2016

Latin American Profiling Society

Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) are a group of compounds known to be potent mutagens and carcinogens in animals. Human beings are also frequently exposed to them through diet and environmental sources. Recently, the toxicity of these compounds have raised many studies to evaluate their levels and distribution in different environmental compartments. Many analytical strategies are available for the determination of heterocyclic aromatic amines, mainly focused on their quantification in food. However, there is still scarce information concerning sensitive and selective methodologies for HAAs quantification at ultra-trace levels in complex environmental samples. In this sense, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been applied as SPE adsorbents for the enrichment of many kinds of compounds. The hexagonal arrays of carbon atoms in graphene sheetsof MWCNTs surface have a strong interaction with other molecules or atoms, which make MWCNTs efficient adsorbent materials.In this work, a novel solid phase microextraction protocol based on the use of MWCNTs for extraction/preconcentration and, subsequent, UPLC-MS/MS quantification of HAAs in natural waters was developed.