Colorimetric assay for determination of trimethylamine-nitrogen (TMA-N) in fish by combining headspace-single-drop microextraction and microvolume UV–vis spectrophotometry

In this work, headspace-single-drop microextraction has been used in combination with microvolume UV–vis spectrophotometry to enhance the determination of trimethylamine-nitrogen (TMA-N) in fish samples. TMA-N is often used for monitoring fish freshness, but due to the low analytical sensitivity usually achieved, its determination must be performed after certain time of storage in some fish species. The proposed methodology, based on the extraction and subsequent complexation of volatile TMA-N onto a picric acid-containing xylene microdrop exposed to the headspace, involves an important improvement of sensitivity (detection limit 6 × 10−4 mg TMA-N per 100 g of fish), a miniaturization of the AOAC Official Method (971.14) and a simple approach for routine labs. This method is well suited to determination of TMA-N in different species of frozen and fresh fish samples from markets and to study the evolution of TMA-N concentration in farmed turbot at the earliest stages of deterioration.