A rapid method for the chromatographic analysis of volatile organic compounds in exhaled breath of tobacco cigarette and electronic cigarette smokers

Abstract

A method for the rapid analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in smoke from tobacco and electronic cigarettes and in exhaled breath of users of these smoking systems has been developed. Both disposable and rechargeable e-cigarettes were considered. Smoke or breath were collected in Bio-VOCs. VOCs were then desorbed in Tenax cartridges which were subsequently analyzed by thermal desorption coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The method provides consistent results when comparing the VOC compositions from cigarette smoke and the equivalent exhaled breath of the smokers. The differences in composition of these two sample types are useful to ascertain which compounds are retained in the respiratory system after tobacco cigarette or e-cigarette smoking. Strong differences were observed in the VOC composition of tobacco cigarette smoke and exhaled breath when comparing with those of e-cigarette smoking. The former involved transfers of a much larger burden of organic compounds into smokers, including benzene, toluene, naphthalene and other pollutants of general concern. e-Cigarettes led to strong absorptions of propylene glycol and glycerin in the users of these systems. Tobacco cigarettes were also those showing highest concentration differences between nicotine concentrations in smoke and exhaled breath. The results from disposable e-cigarettes were very similar to those from rechargeable e-cigarettes.

Exhaled Breath Analysis of Smokers Using CMV-GC/MS

“…In this research, 11 compounds were found to be consistent with literature reporting exhaled breath profiles of smokers. Those compounds of the current study identified in smokers are as follows: propanoic acid [91], propylene glycol [33], α-pinene [91,92], β-pinene [91,92], octanal [91], eucalyptol [91,92], undecane [91,92], menthone [92], nicotine [8,33,35,54], pentadecane [9] and butylated hydroxytoluene [9]. In this research, 17 compounds were reported in literature as being consistent with exhaled breath profiles of both smokers and nonsmokers.…”

“…Examples of sorbent materials used for pre-concentration of exhaled breath samples are activated carbon sorbents [8], SPME fibers [36,38,40,41] and Tenax® sorbent tubes [33,42] followed by analytical techniques such as GC/MS [8,9,35,40,41] or ion mobility spectrometry [42] analysis. During the early stages of exhaled breath analysis, researchers often collected breath into a reservoir and then pumped the sample through an activated carbon sorbent for solvent desorption extraction [8].…”

“…One female reported an age within the [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] age range and two males reported in the 18-25 age range were recruited. Details of the study were described to the individuals, stressing the importance of breath sampling occurrence within one hour of a completed smoking session.…”

“…Examples of breath collection devices used to contain the exhaled breath sample before pre-concentration are the Bio-VOC sampler [9,32,33], and tedlar bags [34][35][36]. Depending on the size of the collection device, it may be designed to collect a sample of a single exhalation.…”

“…The response of nicotine in the GC/MS was examined by calibration for both direct liquid injection and CMV spike introduction. nicotine examined in these experiments reflected a range that would be representative of low levels that would be expected in exhaled breath samples [24,33,54]. Seven nicotine MeOH mixture calibration points were examined: 10, 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 ppb.…”