AAAR 37th Annual Conference October 14 - October 18, 2019 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
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Particle Size and Concentration of Aerosols Produced by Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems
SHERRIE ELZEY, Andrea Tiwari, Jon Ebbert, Slobodan Macura, TSI Incorporated
Abstract Number: 36 Working Group: Health-Related Aerosols
Abstract The particle size of inhaled aerosols can be correlated to lung deposition, with smaller sizes penetrating into deeper regions of the lung. Thus, time-resolved particle size and concentration data can be used to approximate the dosing rate of chemical substances inhaled from electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). The objective of this study was to measure the particle size distribution (PSD) of aerosols produced by different types of ENDS and e-liquids. A smoking machine was used to control the puff profile and deliver a repeatable puff volume. ENDS aerosols were characterized using an Engine Exhaust Particle Sizer to capture nanoscale particles from 5 – 560 nm and an Optical Particle Sizer to capture microscale particles from 0.3 – 10 µm. Diluters were used upstream of the sizers to ensure that concentrations were within measurement limits. PSDs were collected at an acquisition rate of 10 Hz to observe temporal changes, in addition to mean particle size and average total concentration. Results show that rapid changes occurred in the PSDs in terms of both particle size and concentration. These results indicate that 1) PSD data can be used to approximate the dosing rate for a smoker and categorize ENDS or e-liquids as comparatively more or less hazardous; and 2) fast-response sizing techniques provide a comprehensive characterization of PSDs that includes time evolution.