AAAR 35th Annual Conference October 17 - October 21, 2016 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
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Lab Studies to Determine Gas-to-Particle Partitioning of Emissions from Electronic Cigarettes
CLAIRE FORTENBERRY, Brent Williams, Raul Martinez, Walton Sumner, Steven Brody, Washington University in St Louis
Abstract Number: 624 Working Group: Electronic Cigarettes - Particle Generation
Abstract Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) have become an increasingly popular alternative to traditional cigarettes, and although recent studies have characterized the composition of e-cig-generated aerosol, the health effects associated with e-cig use remain poorly understood. Nicotyrine, a nicotine oxidation product, inhibits nicotine metabolism in the airways and liver and has been reported as a component of e-cig aerosol and liquid, meriting research on the use of e-cigs as smoking cessation aides. Nicotine and nicotyrine are both semi-volatile and are thus expected to partition between the gas and particle phases when e-cig aerosol is generated, affecting absorption by the body following inhalation (vaping). Further study on the phase partitioning of nicotine and nicotyrine in e-cig-generated aerosol is therefore necessary for fully understanding the health impacts of e-cig use.
The Thermal desorption Aerosol Gas chromatograph (TAG), which achieves in situ ambient collection and molecular level speciation with hourly time resolution, has recently been modified to collect semi-volatile and intermediately volatile organic compounds (SVOCs and IVOCs, respectively) in parallel with low volatility particulate material. In this study, the partitioning of nicotine, nicotyrine, and other SVOCs/IVOCs in e-cig-generated aerosol was characterized using the TAG. The effects of different e-cig liquids and vaping methods on aerosol composition and partitioning will be presented. Finally, the potential health effects and implications for e-cig use as a smoking cessation aide will be discussed.