A Rapid and Sensitive Chemical Screening Method for E-Cigarette Aerosols Based on Runtime Cavity Ringdown...

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Environmental Health
• Toxicology

Background:

• Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) like Juul are increasingly popular, but their chemical composition and health effects remain poorly understood.
• There is a critical need for rapid analytical methods to study e-cig aerosols and their potential health risks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate a novel analytical approach, runtime cavity ringdown spectroscopy (rtCRDS), for the rapid detection of oxidative products in e-cigarette aerosols.
• To investigate the chemical composition of aerosols from Juul e-cigarettes and common e-liquid ingredients.

Main Methods:

• Utilized runtime cavity ringdown spectroscopy (rtCRDS) for rapid analysis of e-cigarette aerosols.
• Collected aerosols from vaping Juul e-liquids and spiked chemical additives (propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, nicotine, ethyl maltol, benzoic acid, nicotine benzoate) in Tedlar gas bags.
• Analyzed aerosols from single puffs of e-liquid.

Main Results:

• Identified acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, and acetone as primary oxidative products in aerosolized propylene glycol/vegetable glycerin.
• Detected ethanol as a major constituent in three commercial Juul flavors (Virginia tobacco, mango, menthol).
• Observed increased spectral intensities of carbonyl compounds with the addition of common e-cig additives, indicating higher oxidative product generation.

Conclusions:

• The developed rtCRDS method provides a rapid and direct approach for analyzing e-cigarette aerosols.
• The study highlights that common e-cigarette additives can increase the formation of potentially harmful oxidative products.
• This novel analytical technique can complement existing methods for studying vaping exposures and their associated health effects.