• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.205-215
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• 2023

In the present study, an analytical method was proposed for detecting trifluralin in aquatic products at trace concentrations. The method employed QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) and gas chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) as the sample preparation and measurement, respectively. The effect of the aqueous phase volume used in the QuEChERS was demonstrated, and the ratio of 10:10 (mL) between water and acetonitrile phase was used for 5 g of sample. Besides, dSPE using C18 and primary-secondary amine (PSA) was applied to remove the potential interferences from the food matrices, indicating no remarkable analyte loss. The linear range was built up from 0.50 ㎍ L^-1 to 3.0 ㎍ L^-1 (R² = 0.9993). Other criteria, i.e., repeatability (RSD_r = 0.86-1.96 %), reproducibility (RSD_R = 1.09-2.01 %), and recovery (over 90 %), were in accordance with Appendix F of AOAC (2016) for method performance. Although no trifluralin was detected for the commercial samples (fish, shrimp, and breaded shrimp), the spiked samples performed favorable recoveries and precision.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.1037-1047
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• 2014

A highly sensitive analytical method based on stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) technique and gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS-MS) has been developed, allowing the simultaneous multi-analyte determination of seven UV filters in water samples. The stir bar coated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was added to 40 mL of water sample at pH 3 and stirred at 1,100 rpm for 120 min. Other SBSE parameters (salt effect and presence of organic solvent) were optimised. The method shows good linearity (coefficients > 0.990) and reproducibility (RSD < 12.9%). The extraction efficiencies were above 84% for all the compounds. The limits of detections (LOD) and limits of quantification (LOQ) were 2.1~8.6 ng/L and 6.8~27.5 ng/L, respectively. The developed method offers the ability to detect 8 UV filters at ultra-low concentration levels with only 40 mL of sample volume. Matrix effects in tap water, river water, wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) final effluent water and seawater were investigated and it was shown that the method is suitable for the analysis of trace level of 7 UV filters except of benzophenone (BP). The method developed in the present study has the advantage of being rapid, simple, high-sensitive and both user and environmentally friendly.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.345-351
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• 2018

An efficient, quick and low-cost extraction and clean up method for the determination of 14 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the agricultural water samples was optimized using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). The extraction of the target compounds in water sample was carried out with acetonitrile, followed by partitioning promoted by the addition of salt. As a clean-up procedure, dispersive solid phase extraction was employed to purify the analytes of interest for GC-MS/MS analysis. This method was successfully applied for the quantification of PAHs in real water samples collected for the purpose of monitoring from the waterways located in Chungbuk (15 sites) and Gyeongbuk (6 sites), S. Korea. Phenanthrene (0.54 to $2.53{\mu}gL^{-1}$) was detected in all the water samples collected from both the sites. Fluoranthene was detected in the water samples collected from the two sites in Gyeongbuk province, but other PAHs were not determined in these water sampling sites. Based on these results, the determined PAHs were conducted using an environmental risk assessment. The risk characterization ratios (RCRs) for phenanthrene ranged from 0.37 to 3.21. These RCR values referred to as risk was not controlled because RCR values of some sites were greater than 1. In conclusion, it is proposed that the optimized method in combination with GC-MS/MS could be successfully employed for the determination of PAHs in any environmental samples including water samples.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.110-117
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• 2018

The aim of this study was to develop an analytical method for the quantification of diazepam residues in fishery products, using liquid and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS). The sample utilized in the study was extracted from the fish sample (crucian carp) using 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile. For the utilization of the purification process, the dispersive solid phase extraction (dSPE) was used for LC-MS/MS, dSPE and SPE was used for GC-MS/MS, respectively. To be sure, the standard calibration curves showed a good linearity as the noted correlation coefficients, $r^2$ was > 0.99. The average recoveries for accuracy ranged in 99.8~124% for the samples which were fortified at three different levels (0.001, 0.002 and 0.010 mg/kg). The correlation coefficient for the precision effect was measured at a range of 4.01~11.8%. The limit of detection (LOD) for the diazepam analysis was 0.0004 mg/kg, and the limit of the quantification (LOQ) was 0.001 mg/kg. The proposed analytical method was characterized with a high accuracy and acceptable sensitivity to meet the established Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC/GL71-2009) guideline requirements. We therefore established the optimal analysis method for the determination of diazepam in the fishery products using LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS. It would be applicable to analyze the diazepam residues in fishery products in further studies on this subject.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.31-40
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• 2021

Probable human carcinogenic compounds nitrosamines, have been detected as by-product impurities in sartan pharmaceuticals in recent years which has drawn worries for medication safety. To provide a sensitive and effective method for the quality control of sartan pharmaceuticals, this study established a feasible gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) method for simultaneous determination of 13 nitrosamines. The target analytes were separated on a DB-WAX Ultra Inert column (30 m × 0.25 mm; i.d., 0.25 ㎛) and were then subjected to electron impact ionization in multiple reaction monitoring mode. The established method was validated and further employed to analyze authentic samples. Limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantification (LOQs) of the 13 nitrosamines were 15-250 ng/g and 50-250 ng/g, respectively, which also exhibited intra-day and inter-day accuracies of 91.4-104.8%, thereby satisfying validation criteria. Five nitrosamines, viz., N-nitrosodiethylamine, N-nitrosodimethylamine, N-nitrosodiphenylamine, N-nitrosomorpholine, and N-nitrosopiperidine were detected at concentrations above their LODs in 68 positive samples out of 594 authentic samples from seven sartans.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.36 no.11
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• pp.764-770
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• 2014

This study assessed analysis of N-nitrosamines by separation, identification, and quantification using a gas chromatography (GC) mass spectrometer (MS) with electron impact (EI) mode. Samples were pretreated by a automated solid phase extraction (SPE) and a nitrogen concentration technique to detect low concentration ranges. The analysis results by EI-GC/MS (SIM) and EI-GC/MS/MS (MRM) on standard samples with no pretreatment exhibited similar results. On the other hand, the analysis of pretreated samples at low concentrations (i.e. ng/L levels) were not reliable with a EI-GC/MS due to the interferences from impurity peaks. The method detection limits of eight (8) N-nitrosamines by EI-GC/MS/MS analysis ranged from 0.76 to 2.09 ng/L, and the limits of quantification ranged from 2.41 to 6.65 ng/L. The precision and accuracy of the method were evaluated using spiked samples at concentrations of 10, 20 and 100 ng/L. The precision were 1.2~13.6%, and the accuracy were 80.4~121.8%. The $R^2$ of the calibration curves were greater than 0.999. The recovery rates for various environmental samples were evaluated with a surrogate material (NDPA-$d_{14}$) and ranged 86.2~122.3%. Thus, this method can be used to determine low (ng/L) levels of N-nitrosamines in water samples.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.429-439
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• 2011

This article described the comparison of a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe (QuEChERS) sample preparation and the classical method established by National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service (NVRQS) for the determination of pesticide residues in livestock products using GC-tandem mass spectrometry. The classical method by NVRQS used liquid-liquid partioning followed by evaporizing. The modified QuEChERS entailed extraction of 2 g sample with 15 ml acetonitrile containing 1% acetic acid followed by addition of 6 g anhydrous magnesium sulfate and 1.5 g sodium acetate. After centrifugation, 6 ml of the extract underwent a cleanup step (in a technique known as column-based solid phase extraction) using 400 mg each of $C_{18}$ and primary secondary amine sorbents plus 1,200 mg magnesium sulfate. The quantitation of individual pesticides by both methods was based on tissue standard calibration curves with a correlation coefficient in excess of 0.98 for the 24 pesticides. The detection limits by the classical method were ranged 1.3~5.0 ${\mu}g$/kg, with mean recoveries between 76.2% and 114.3% except aldrin (59.3%) and deltamethrin (63.6%). The detection limits by modified QuEChERS were ranged 0.3~6.2 ${\mu}g$/kg, with mean recoveries between 68.0% and 114.3% except dimethipin (152.6%), chlorfenvinphos (138.1%), 4,4-DDT (61.5%), aldrin (60.4%) and chinomethionate (30.3%).

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.410-418
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• 2016

This study was conducted to improve the analysis method used for N-nitrosamines and to investigate the occurrences of N-nitrosamines in tributaries of the Han-river, intake stations, water treatment plants and tap water used within the city of Seoul. The samples were pretreated through a solid phase extraction and analyzed using a gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometer (GC-MS/MS). The GC-MS/MS in CI mode was compared with the GC-MS/MS in EI mode by the method detection limits (MDLs). MDLs by GC-CI/MS/MS and GC-EI/MS/MS were 0.2 ~ 1.1 ng/L and 0.2 ~ 1.4 ng/L, respectively. Samples were collected from ten tributaries of the Han-river (T1 ~ T10), six intake stations (I1 ~ I6), six water treatment plants (P1 ~ P6) and 25 taps in Seoul city. The maximum levels of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) were 0.013 μg/L, 0.008 μg/L, 0.006 μg/L and 0.002 μg/L in tributary water, raw water, finished water and tap water samples, respectively. Detected levels were much lower than 0.1 μg/L corresponding to the guideline value of WHO.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Tobacco Science
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.140-145
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• 2007

Acrylamide has been found in many foods. Acrylamide in foodstuffs were analyzed by a GC/MS after bromination of acrylamide or by a LC/MS for underivatized acylamide. Time consuming and laborious clean up procedures is applied for the purification of the extract, in these methods. In this study, a simple and fast method without clean up step for the analysis of acrylamide in mainstream cigarette smoke was developed by using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) and the effects of tobacco leaf constituents on acrylamide content was observed. The analysis of acrylamide in mainstream cigarette smoke started to collect TPM (total particulate matter) from smoking and to extract by 0.1 % acetic acid solution and then to detect by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry using electrospray in the positive mode. The recovery of acrylamide in 2R4F reference cigarette was 98 % and the reproducibility was 2.5 % and the limit of detection was 1.6 ng/mL. Reducing sugars and amino acids are considered to be main precursors of acrylamide in foodstuffs. Cut tobacco contain substantial amounts of reducing sugars and amino acid which may be explained the occurrence of acrylamide in mainstream cigarette smoke. The effects of reducing sugars and total nitrogen studied in an experiment with a various tobacco types. This result indicated that reducing sugars are not limiting factor for acrylamide formation, but the level of acrylamide in cigarette smoke was significantly correlated with the total nitrogen contents.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.120-143
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• 2018

The analytical methods and their ambient levels of organic nitrogenous compounds such as nitrosamines, nitramines (nitroamines), imines, amides and nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAHs) in the atmosphere are summarized and discussed. Sampling for the analysis of organic nitrogenous compounds was mostly conducted using high volume air sampler. The direct liquid extraction (DLE) using sonification and the pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) using the accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) have been frequently employed for the extraction of organic nitrogenous compounds in the atmospheric samples. After extraction, clean-up via filtration and the solid phase extraction (SPE) and concentrations using nitrogen and rotary evaporator have been generally conducted but in some studies the clean-up and concentration steps have been omitted to prevent the loss of analyte and improve the recovery rate of the analytical procedure. Instrumental analysis was mainly carried out using gas chromatography (GC) or the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with the single quadrupole mass spectrometer or tandem mass spectrometer in the electron ionization (EI), positive chemical ionization (PCI) and negative chemical ionization (NCI) mode and analysis sensitivity of nitrosamines and nitramines were higher in NCI mode. Desirable sampling and analysis methods for analyzing particulate organic nitrogenous compounds are suggested.