Abstract

Background

Currently, there is no validated and available method internationally to determine the contents of nicotine and aerosolizing agents, namely glycerol and propylene glycol, added onto the heatsticks for use in heated smoking devices.

Objective

To determine the concentrations of nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerol and triacetin in heated tobacco products (HTPs) which is essential to understanding their health effects on smokers as well as secondhand smokers.

Methods

A simple methodology was developed and validated to simultaneously determine nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerol, and triacetin concentrations present in heatsticks. The tobacco material was extracted with a mixture of methanol–acetonitrile (7 + 3, by volume) with 1,3-butanediol and n-heptadecane as internal standards and analyzed with gas chromatography with flame-ionization detection (GC–FID).

Results

Good linearity was achieved over the following concentration ranges: 0.1–1.0 mg/mL for nicotine, 0.03–2.0 mg/mL for propylene glycol, 0.5–10.0 mg/mL for glycerol, and 0.1–4.0 mg/mL triacetin, with a coefficient of determination ≥0.995. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.0009 and 0.003 mg/mL for nicotine, 0.02 and 0.02 mg/mL for propylene glycol, 0.03 and 0.09 mg/mL for glycerol, and 0.005 and 0.02 mg/mL for triacetin, respectively. Good recoveries were obtained for nicotine at 89.8–102.0%, propylene glycol at 95.5–102.5%, glycerol at 95.2–102.6%, and triacetin at 90.6–103.1%.

Conclusion

This method provides an affordable and reliable technique for routine analysis of nicotine and aerosolizing chemicals present in HTPs which is necessary to assess their impact to public health.

Highlights

Many gaps remain in research on HTPs, in particular, country levels information on the content of the products are limited. This article contains information on a newly developed method to simultaneously determine nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerol and triacetin present in the tobacco material and butts of heatsticks for HTPs.

中文翻译：

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气相色谱火焰离子化检测法同时测定加热烟草制品中尼古丁、甘油、丙二醇和甘油三乙酸酯含量的简单方法

摘要

背景

目前，国际上还没有经过验证和可用的方法来确定添加到加热棒中用于加热吸烟装置的尼古丁和雾化剂（即甘油和丙二醇）的含量。

客观的

确定加热烟草产品 (HTP) 中尼古丁、丙二醇、甘油和甘油三乙酸酯的浓度，这对于了解它们对吸烟者和二手吸烟者的健康影响至关重要。

方法

开发并验证了一种简单的方法，可同时测定加热棒中存在的尼古丁、丙二醇、甘油和三醋精浓度。烟草材料用甲醇-乙腈（体积比为 7 + 3）的混合物以及 1,3-丁二醇和正十七烷作为内标物进行萃取，并采用带有火焰离子化检测器的气相色谱法 (GC-FID) 进行分析。

结果

在以下浓度范围内实现了良好的线性：尼古丁为 0.1–1.0 mg/mL，丙二醇为 0.03–2.0 mg/mL，甘油为 0.5–10.0 mg/mL，三醋精为 0.1–4.0 mg/mL，具有系数测定值≥0.995。尼古丁的检测和定量限分别为 0.0009 和 0.003 mg/mL，丙二醇的 0.02 和 0.02 mg/mL，甘油的 0.03 和 0.09 mg/mL，三醋精的 0.005 和 0.02 mg/mL。尼古丁的回收率良好，为 89.8-102.0%，丙二醇为 95.5-102.5%，甘油为 95.2-102.6%，三醋精为 90.6-103.1%。

结论

该方法为 HTP 中存在的尼古丁和雾化化学物质的常规分析提供了一种负担得起且可靠的技术，这是评估其对公众健康的影响所必需的。

强调

在 HTP 的研究中仍然存在许多空白，特别是国家层面关于产品内容的信息有限。本文包含有关一种新开发的方法的信息，该方法可同时测定烟草材料和 HTP 加热棒烟头中存在的尼古丁、丙二醇、甘油和三醋精。