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TSRC, Tob. Sci. Res. Conf., 2023, 76, abstr. 11

Comparison of metals content in ENDS using ICP-MS with two separate aerosol collection methods: fritted impingers and FEP tubing

STOGNER D.; WILLIS E.; GRAY J.; ADAMS C.J.; CHOUCHANE S.
Eurofins Professional Scientific Services, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

Analytical evaluation of metals in electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) is critical for the assessment of ENDS products. The collection method is important in that it should be able to collect all the aerosol produced without introducing contamination. Collection methods such as quartz pads contribute high background levels of the elements of interest, particularly chromium, and are therefore not suitable for trace level analysis. Therefore, we have assessed two alternative collection techniques, Fritted Impingers and fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) tubing, both of which produce little to no contribution of the elements of interest. The Fritted Impinger traps the metals and ENDS aerosol in an acidic aqueous solution, while the FEP tubing physically traps the ENDS aerosol through aerosol condensation in the looped tubing. During method development the Fritted Impingers and the FEP tubing gave similar results. The work was performed on a Perkin Elmer Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) instruments (NexION 300, 350, and 2000) with a radio frequency (RF) power of 1600. The elements were also analyzed using three modes: standard, dynamic reaction cell (DRC), and kinetic energy discrimination (KED). Standard mode is when no reaction gas is added, DRC is when ammonia gas is introduced and KED is when helium gas is introduced. This method uses Germanium-74, Gallium-71, Indium-115, Bismuth-209 as internal standards. Beryllium, manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, tin, barium, lead, chromium, vanadium, and selenium were validated. The results of the method validation and the comparative data of the collection techniques will be reported.