Analysis of nitrosamines concentration in condom by using LC-MS/MS

Nitrosamines are the nitrosocompounds which are produced by nitrosation reactions of the secondary amine and nitrite, and has been found to be produced through the vulcanization process during the production of rubber products Recently, nitrosamines have been detected in rubber products and become a major topic. Condoms are disposable medical devices, so safety is important because they come into direct contact with the skin and mucous membranes. In this study, we developed an analytical method for nitrosamines in condoms by applying ISO 29941 method. The samples were eluted by distilled water, and target compounds were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction with dichloromethane. And then after concentrated, and quantitatively analyzed by LC-MS/MS. The accuracies of the analytical method were ranged from 85.8 to 108.7%, precisions were lower than 11.5%, and the detection limits were from 0.11 (NDPA and NDBA) to 0.48 (NPYR) ng/mL. Among the 31 condom samples, NDBA was detected from 2 cases by extraction of distilled water, and NDMA were detected from 1 case, NDEA from 4 cases and NDBA from 26 cases by extraction of artificial saliva (pH 4.5). The total amount of nitrosamines in all samples were less than 500 μg/kg.