Beard JC, Swager TM. An Organic Chemist's Guide to
N-Nitrosamines: Their Structure, Reactivity, and Role as Contaminants.
J Org Chem 2021;
86:2037-2057. [PMID:
33474939 DOI:
10.1021/acs.joc.0c02774]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
N-Nitrosamines are a class of compounds notorious both for the potent carcinogenicity of many of its members and for their widespread occurrence throughout the human environment, from air and water to our diets and drugs. Considerable effort has been dedicated to understanding N-nitrosamines as contaminants, and methods for their prevention, remediation, and detection are ongoing challenges. Understanding the chemistry of N-nitrosamines will be key to addressing these challenges. To facilitate such understanding, we focus in this Perspective on the structure, reactivity, and synthetic applications of N-nitrosamines with an emphasis on alkyl N-nitrosamines. The role of N-nitrosamines as water contaminants and the methods for their detection are also discussed.
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