What is the ThermoSorb-N and when would I use it?

The ThermoSorb-N is an air sampling cartridge designed specifically for collecting airborne nitrosamines. It is used in occupational hygiene monitoring, workplace safety assessments, and any environment where workers may be exposed to airborne N-nitroso compounds.

Why standard sampling methods cause problems

Collecting airborne nitrosamines is harder than it sounds. Solid sorbents like activated charcoal, silica gel, and Tenax can react with nitrogen oxides in the air and generate nitrosamines during collection itself. That gives you a false positive: your result includes compounds that were never in the air.

Wet traps have the opposite problem. Nitrosamines desorb over time and degrade with temperature changes and UV exposure. By the time the sample reaches the lab, some of it is gone. That gives you a false negative.

Either way, the result does not reflect what was actually in the air.

How the ThermoSorb-N solves this

The ThermoSorb-N includes an integrated artifact trap that combines an amine-trapping agent with a nitrosation inhibitor. This blocks in-situ nitrosamine formation before it starts. The cartridge is constructed from opaque plastic, which prevents UV degradation during transport and storage. Solid sorbent construction eliminates the desorption problems associated with wet traps.

In comparative testing against six common sorbents, every other method showed measurable nitrosamine formation. The ThermoSorb-N showed none.

Where it is used

The ThermoSorb-N is used across rubber processing, metalworking, automotive manufacturing, and chemical production environments. It is also used for vehicle interior air quality monitoring.

It clips to work clothing for personal monitoring over a full shift. For fixed-point workplace monitoring, the cartridge can be positioned at the sampling location. A second cartridge can be attached piggyback-style where unusually high concentrations are suspected.

How the sample is analysed

After sampling, a solvent back-flushing technique elutes the collected nitrosamines from the cartridge. The eluate is then analysed by GC using the Ellutia 800 Series TEA. Analysis of volatile N-nitroso compounds at part-per-billion levels takes minutes.

Want to discuss airborne nitrosamine monitoring for your workplace? Get in touch with the team.