Gas Chromatographic-Selected Ion Monitoring-Mass Spectrometric Determination of Cigarette Mainstream Smoke Components with Sensory Attributes

A new method has been developed that detects significant quantitative differences in the amounts of pyrazines, pyridines, furfurals, carboxylic acids, b-damascenone, sclareolide, and megastigmatrienones in the mainstream smoke of a series of five commercial cigarettes. This new quantitative method is based on the gas chromatographic-selected ion monitoring-mass spectrometric (GC-SIM-MS) determination of the selected smoke constituents. The accuracy and precision of the approach were well within acceptable parameters with the majority of cases relative standard deviation (RSD) values consistently around 5%. Sample preparation was simple requiring only the dissolution of the trapped particulate material in a known volume of methanol followed by injection of this clear dark colored solution into the gas chromatograph. This approach represents an advance in the technology in terms of higher sample throughput and less sample workup. Certain products demonstrated consistent trends in concentration of specific chemical classes. The mainstream smoke from a University of Kentucky reference cigarette, 2R4F, was included for reference purposes. These results are applicable in the overall evaluation of the components responsible for the taste associated with cigarette products.