Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons of Tobacco Smoke: Isolation and Identification

A neutral fraction of cigarette smoke condensate, which had shown biological activity and was known to contain polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), was fractionated by analytical gel filtration chromatography. These gel fractions were subjected to gas chromatographic separation and their components were identified by relative GC retention times, UV spectra, and mass spectral data. More than 300 PAH, ranging from indene to the dimethylbenzopyrenes, were characterized. This method of isolation has yielded fractions which were more amenable to definitive identifications. The criteria used for identification are tabulated for all the identified PAH compounds.