Gas-Particle Partitioning of Nicotine from Common Inhalation Tobacco Products

CONOR A. RUZYCKI, Hammad Irshad, Jacob D. McDonald, Philip J. Kuehl, Lovelace Biomedical

     Abstract Number: 640
     Working Group: Health-Related Aerosols

Abstract
The World Health Organization specifies that there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco. Despite this, tobacco use remains high, and newer products such as e-cigarettes have led to a resurgence of tobacco use in youths. The disparate mechanisms of aerosol generation from these different classes of tobacco products are thought to cause differences in aerosol characteristics and gas-particle partitioning of nicotine, ultimately influencing pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics during use. In this pilot study, we experimentally characterize gas-particle partitioning of nicotine in aerosols generated by cigarettes (Kentucky Reference), e-cigarettes (including NJOY Traditional Bold, Vuse, and Blu Hi Classic), and an inhalation cessation therapy (Nicotrol Inhaler), using the Health Canada Intense regimen. An annular denuder (URG Corporation) and filter, both coated with oxalic acid, were placed in series downstream of the inhalation product to capture nicotine in the gas phase and particle phase, respectively. Following collection of a puff from each product, the denuder and filter were assayed for nicotine mass using gas chromatography – mass spectrometry. Significant differences in the total amount and partitioning of nicotine between the gas and particle phase were observed between different products: the average total mass of nicotine and the fraction in the gas phase (n=3) ranged from 3.1 µg and 0.91 with the Nicotrol Inhaler to 70.3 µg and 0.23 with the Kentucky Reference Cigarettes, with e-cigarettes yielding total masses between these extremes and gas fractions similar to that of the Kentucky Reference Cigarette. Such differences are expected to result in differences in nicotine pharmacokinetics during use in vivo, and future work will investigate gas-particle partitioning in additional classes of tobacco inhalation products.