Measurement of pollution levels of N-nitroso compounds of health concern in water using ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

International audience; This paper reports the development of a highly sensitive analytical method combining solid-phase extraction (SPE) with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS), for the monitoring of ultra-trace levels of N-nitrosamines in water samples. Under optimized analytical conditions, chromatographic separation was performed in 3 min, in isocratic mode, using an Acquity UHPLC C18 column and a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile, water, and formic acid (60:40:0.1, v/v/v) at a flow rate of 0.4 mL min−1. Electrospray ionization tandem interface was employed prior to mass spectrometric detection. Good linearity (R2 ≥ 0.9…