<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Glycerol, and 1,2-propylene glycol are the humectants most commonly used by the tobacco industry. They are found in a variety of tobacco products and are often present at high levels (~2–5 % w/w). While humectants are generally considered safe, they may serve as precursors in the formation of harmful carbonyl compounds. A selective, precise, and sensitive method for the quantification of several humectants in cigarette filler was developed. The method’s sample clean-up is a two-step process consisting of a mechanical extraction, followed by solid phase extraction. Individual humectants are separated, identified, and measured using liquid chromatography coupled to a single quadrupole mass spectrometer as the detector (LC/MS). Detection limits were 0.105, 0.575, and 0.039 mg/cigarette for glycerol, 1,2-propylene glycol and triethylene glycol, respectively. The quantification range for these analytes was 0.4–75.0 mg/cigarette. Twenty-seven brands of domestic commercial cigarettes were evaluated to assess typical levels of humectants in the tobacco filler.</p></abstract>

Glycerol, and 1,2-propylene glycol are the humectants most commonly used by the tobacco industry. They are found in a variety of tobacco products and are often present at high levels (~2–5 % w/w). While humectants are generally considered safe, they may serve as precursors in the formation of harmful carbonyl compounds. A selective, precise, and sensitive method for the quantification of several humectants in cigarette filler was developed. The method’s sample clean-up is a two-step process consisting of a mechanical extraction, followed by solid phase extraction. Individual humectants are separated, identified, and measured using liquid chromatography coupled to a single quadrupole mass spectrometer as the detector (LC/MS). Detection limits were 0.105, 0.575, and 0.039 mg/cigarette for glycerol, 1,2-propylene glycol and triethylene glycol, respectively. The quantification range for these analytes was 0.4–75.0 mg/cigarette. Twenty-seven brands of domestic commercial cigarettes were evaluated to assess typical levels of humectants in the tobacco filler.

Determination of Humectants in Tobacco Filler by High Performance Chromatography/Single Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry

Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Laboratory Sciences

Contributions to Tobacco & Nicotine Research

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Glycerol, and 1,2-propylene glycol are the humectants most commonly used by the tobacco industry. They are found in a variety of tobacco products and are often...

Determination of Humectants in Tobacco Filler by High Performance Chromatography/Single Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry

Published Online: Jan 03, 2019

Page range: 170 - 178

Received: Jun 08, 2017

Accepted: Nov 16, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/cttr-2018-0016

Keywords
Humectants in tobacco filler, high performance chromatography/single quadrupole mass spectrometry, solid phase extraction

© 2018 Yan Xizheng et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Determination of Humectants in Tobacco Filler by High Performance Chromatography/Single Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry

Published Online: Jan 03, 2019

Page range: 170 - 178

Received: Jun 08, 2017

Accepted: Nov 16, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/cttr-2018-0016

KeywordsHumectants in tobacco filler, high performance chromatography/single quadrupole mass spectrometry, solid phase extraction

© 2018 Yan Xizheng et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Humectants in tobacco filler, high performance chromatography/single quadrupole mass spectrometry, solid phase extraction