A Simple Method to Simultaneously Determine the Level of Nicotine, Glycerol, Propylene Glycol, and Triacetin in Heated Tobacco Products by Gas Chromatography-Flame-Ionization Detection.

BACKGROUND: Currently, there is no validated and available method internationally to determine the contents of nicotine and aerosolizing agents, namely glycerol and propylene glycol, added onto the heatsticks for use in heated smoking devices. OBJECTIVE: To determine the concentrations of nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerol and triacetin in heated tobacco products (HTPs) which is essential to understanding their health effects on smokers as well as secondhand smokers. METHODS: A simple methodology was developed and validated to simultaneously determine nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerol, and triacetin concentrations present in heatsticks. The tobacco material was extracted with a mixture of methanol-acetonitrile (7 + 3, by volume) with 1,3-butanediol and n-heptadecane as internal standards and analyzed with gas chromatography with flame-ionization detection (GC-FID). RESULTS: Good linearity was achieved over the following concentration ranges: 0.1-1.0 mg/mL for nicotine, 0.03-2.0 mg/mL for propylene glycol, 0.5-10.0 mg/mL for glycerol, and 0.1-4.0 mg/mL triacetin, with a coefficient of determination ≥0.995. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.0009 and 0.003 mg/mL for nicotine, 0.02 and 0.02 mg/mL for propylene glycol, 0.03 and 0.09 mg/mL for glycerol, and 0.005 and 0.02 mg/mL for triacetin, respectively. Good recoveries were obtained for nicotine at 89.8-102.0%, propylene glycol at 95.5-102.5%, glycerol at 95.2-102.6%, and triacetin at 90.6-103.1%. CONCLUSION: This method provides an affordable and reliable technique for routine analysis of nicotine and aerosolizing chemicals present in HTPs which is necessary to assess their impact to public health. HIGHLIGHTS: Many gaps remain in research on HTPs, in particular, country levels information on the content of the products are limited. This article contains information on a newly developed method to simultaneously determine nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerol and triacetin present in the tobacco material and butts of heatsticks for HTPs.