Gas chromatography
Ellutia has launched a mail-in ATNC (Apparent Total Nitrosamine Content) testing service, giving cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and materials manufacturers a way to screen for total nitrosamine content without buying testing equipment of their own.
ATNC is a recognised screening method for total nitrosamine content, used across industries wherever nitrosamine formation needs to be assessed. Cosmetics manufacturers work to a 50 µg/kg limit under EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) 1223/2009, and pharmaceutical manufacturers use the same screening approach ahead of targeted analysis under ICH M7. The method gives a single result covering the nitrosamine group as a whole, including compounds a manufacturer has not tested for specifically, catching unexpected nitrosamine formation that targeted methods alone can miss.
The new service suits manufacturers who need this reassurance but do not have the sample volume to justify a screening instrument of their own. Customers send a sample and Ellutia runs it in-house on the TEA, the detector technology built for nitrosamine detection and already used by pharmaceutical and cosmetics manufacturers. Results, a single ppb-level value covering total nitrosamine content, are typically available within 7 days of the sample arriving.
Ellutia has worked with the ATNC method across pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and industrial testing for decades, applying the same technology and method whether a customer owns the instrument or sends a sample in for screening.
For manufacturers weighing this against bringing testing in-house, the ATNA (Automated Total Nitrosamine Analyser) automates the same method for high-volume, routine screening and remains available as a standalone instrument. Both routes use the same underlying technology, the difference is simply where the testing happens. For samples where nitrite and nitrate content complicates interpretation, Ellutia has also developed a confirmatory method that isolates a nitrosamine-only figure for certain sample types.
Nitrosamine risk is not limited to cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Rubber and elastomer products, including items such as baby teats and soothers, food ingredients such as malt, and other industrial materials all carry their own nitrosamine considerations. Ellutia's Nitrosamine Analysis Buyers Guide sets out the available analytical approaches, including when total screening is appropriate and when targeted, compound-specific testing is needed.
Because pricing depends on the sample and the preparation it needs, Ellutia quotes each request individually rather than at a flat rate, and there is no cost or commitment to asking. Request an ATNC testing quote to discuss a sample.
Product directory
