TY - JOUR
T1 - Improving the analysis of e-cigarette emissions
T2 - Detecting human “dry puff” conditions in a laboratory as validated by a panel of experienced vapers
AU - Visser, Wouter F.
AU - Krüsemann, Erna J.Z.
AU - Klerx, Walther N.M.
AU - Boer, Karin
AU - Weibolt, Naomi
AU - Talhout, Reinskje
PY - 2021/11/2
Y1 - 2021/11/2
N2 - Introduction: E-cigarette product regulation requires accurate analyses of emissions. User behavior, including device power setting selection, should be mimicked closely when generating e-cigarette emissions in a laboratory. Excessively high power settings result in an adverse burnt off-taste, called “dry puff flavor”. This should be avoided because it results in an overestimation of toxicant levels (especially certain carbonyls). This study presents a human volunteer-validated approach to detect excessively high e-cigarette power settings by HPLC-DAD (high-performance liquid chromatography—diode array detection) carbonyl analysis. Methods: Thirteen experienced e-cigarette users evaluated whether the “dry puff flavor” was present at different power settings (10 W–25 W), recording their assessment on a 100-unit visual analog scale (VAS). They assessed e-cigarettes equipped with 1.2 Ω or 1.6 Ω coils containing menthol, vanilla or fruit-flavored e-liquids. In a machine-vaping experiment, emissions from the same liquid/coil/power setting combinations were subjected to HPLC-DAD analysis of dinitrophenol hydrazine (DNPH)-derivatized carbonyls, such as lactaldehyde and formaldehyde. A simple algorithm, based on the cutoff values for each marker, was applied to relate the dry puff flavor (as assessed by the human volunteers) to the laboratory measurements. Results: Eleven carbonyl compounds were found to agree with the human assessments. Based on the amounts of these compounds in the emissions, the dry-puff flavor did match at all combinations of e-liquids and coils examined. Dry-puff flavor was observed at different power levels with the different liquids tested. Conclusions: The described method can detect dry puff conditions and is therefore a useful tool to ensure user-relevant conditions in laboratory analyses of e-cigarette emissions. Implications: This study improves the chemical analysis of e-cigarette emissions. It offers a method to select an appropriate (i.e., user-relevant) power setting for e-cigarettes, which is a critical parameter for emission analysis and therefore important for regulatory purposes and risk assessments. Compared to the approach of using human volunteers to select appropriate power settings for different products by taste, the described method is cheaper, faster, more practical and more ethical.
AB - Introduction: E-cigarette product regulation requires accurate analyses of emissions. User behavior, including device power setting selection, should be mimicked closely when generating e-cigarette emissions in a laboratory. Excessively high power settings result in an adverse burnt off-taste, called “dry puff flavor”. This should be avoided because it results in an overestimation of toxicant levels (especially certain carbonyls). This study presents a human volunteer-validated approach to detect excessively high e-cigarette power settings by HPLC-DAD (high-performance liquid chromatography—diode array detection) carbonyl analysis. Methods: Thirteen experienced e-cigarette users evaluated whether the “dry puff flavor” was present at different power settings (10 W–25 W), recording their assessment on a 100-unit visual analog scale (VAS). They assessed e-cigarettes equipped with 1.2 Ω or 1.6 Ω coils containing menthol, vanilla or fruit-flavored e-liquids. In a machine-vaping experiment, emissions from the same liquid/coil/power setting combinations were subjected to HPLC-DAD analysis of dinitrophenol hydrazine (DNPH)-derivatized carbonyls, such as lactaldehyde and formaldehyde. A simple algorithm, based on the cutoff values for each marker, was applied to relate the dry puff flavor (as assessed by the human volunteers) to the laboratory measurements. Results: Eleven carbonyl compounds were found to agree with the human assessments. Based on the amounts of these compounds in the emissions, the dry-puff flavor did match at all combinations of e-liquids and coils examined. Dry-puff flavor was observed at different power levels with the different liquids tested. Conclusions: The described method can detect dry puff conditions and is therefore a useful tool to ensure user-relevant conditions in laboratory analyses of e-cigarette emissions. Implications: This study improves the chemical analysis of e-cigarette emissions. It offers a method to select an appropriate (i.e., user-relevant) power setting for e-cigarettes, which is a critical parameter for emission analysis and therefore important for regulatory purposes and risk assessments. Compared to the approach of using human volunteers to select appropriate power settings for different products by taste, the described method is cheaper, faster, more practical and more ethical.
KW - Chemical analysis
KW - Dry puff
KW - E-cigarette
KW - Emissions
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph182111520
DO - 10.3390/ijerph182111520
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85118248592
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 18
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 21
M1 - 11520
ER -