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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Bowling Green, Kentucky » Food Animal Environmental Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #241548
Title: Determination of Methylamines and Trimethylamine-N-oxide in particulate matter by non-suppressed ion chromatography

Author
item ERUPE, MARK - Utah State University
item LIBERMAN-MARTIN, ALLEGRA - Claremont Colleges
item Silva, Philip - Phil
item MALLOY, QUENTIN - University Of California
item YONIS, YONIS - Claremont Colleges
item COCKER, III, DAVID - University Of California
item PURVIS-ROBERTS, KATHLEEN - Claremont Colleges

Submitted to: Journal of Chromatography
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/19/2010
Publication Date: 3/26/2010
Citation: Erupe, M.E., Liberman-Martin, A., Silva, P.J., Malloy, Q.G., Yonis, Y., Cocker, III, D.R., Purvis-Roberts, K. 2010. Determination of Methylamines and Trimethylamine-N-oxide in particulate matter by non-suppressed ion chromatography. Journal of Chromatography. 1217(13):2070-2073.

Interpretive Summary: A method to analyze particulate amines was developed. This method utilizes ion chromatography with non-suppressed conductivity detection. Methylamines (methylamine, dimethylamine, trimethylamine, and trimethylamine-n-oxide) can be rapidly separated with good sensitivity. The method was applied to product analysis of particulates collected from laboratory reactions of agricultural gas-phase amines with atmospheric oxidants. Results of these analyses indicate that little of the particulate mass can be accounted for by cationized and amine-n-oxide compounds. This indicates that the fate of amines emitted into the air may lie along a different chemical pathway than that suggested in the literature.

Technical Abstract: An ion chromatography method with non-suppressed conductivity detection was developed for the simultaneous determination of methylamines (methylamine, dimethylamine, trimethylamine) and trimethylamine-N-oxide in particulate matter air samples. The analytes were well separated by means of cation-exchange chromatography using a 3 mM nitric acid/3.5% acetonitrile (v/v) eluent solution and a Metrosep C 2 250 (250 mm × 4 mm i.d.) separation column. The effects of the different chromatographic parameters on the separation were also investigated. Detection limits of methylamine, dimethylamine, trimethylamine, and trimethylamine-N-oxide were 43, 46, 76 and 72 µg/L, respectively. The relative standard deviations of the retention times were between 0.42% and 1.14% while the recoveries were between 78.8% and 88.3%. The method is suitable for determining if methylamines and trimethylamine-N-oxide are a significant component of organic nitrogen aerosol in areas with high concentration of these species.