Open AccessThermal Degradants Identified from the Vaping of Vitamin E Acetate
Author(s) -
Alexander L. Kovach,
Randi R. Carter,
Jonathan Thornburg,
Robert W. Wiethe,
Timothy R. Fennell,
Jenny L. Wiley
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of analytical toxicology.
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.161
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1945-2403
pISSN - 0146-4760
DOI - 10.1093/jat/bkab109
Subject(s) - vaporizer , chemistry , chromatography , mass spectrometry , ethyl acetate , medicine , pathology
Studies have suggested that vitamin E acetate (VEA), when used in an electronic vaping device, undergoes thermal degradation and is considered one of the main contributors in e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI). Using a Borgwaldt 5.1 linear smoker, a SVS250 Electronic Vaporizer and two types of tank systems, VEA was analyzed for degradation products produced via the Cooperation Centre for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco method 81 when the filter containing vaporized VEA was extracted using acetonitrile. Two of the major products identified were 2,3,5,6-tetramethyl-1,4-benzoquinone and 2,6,10,14-tetramethyl-1-pentadecene, which were confirmed using analytical standards and gas chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS). Additional synthesis of 4-acetoxy-2,3,5,6-tetramethyl-2,4-cyclohexadienone and subsequent characterization using nuclear magnetic resonance and GC-HRMS suggested that this is not one of the products produced. Identification of these degradants will allow future studies to quantify and examine the degradants in vivo and in vitro as biomarkers for exposure and toxicity assessment.