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CORESTA Congress, Kunming, 2018, Smoke Science/Product Technology Groups, ST 68

E-cigarette aerosol dynamics in a physical model of the adult human oral/pharyngeal/tracheal cavity

WANG Qing; CASTRO N.D.; ZHANG Jingjie; LI Weiling; PITHAWALLA Y.B.; OLDHAM M.J.; LIPOWICZ P.; ROSTAMI A.A.
Altria Client Services LLC, Research, Development & Regulatory Affairs, Richmond, VA, U.S.A.

The objective of this work is to generate experimental data to validate a computational deposition model for e cigarette aerosol. An adult human oral/pharyngeal/tracheal hollow prototype model was generated using a 3D printer from the CT scan of a 28 year old healthy male that had an internal volume of 120 cm3. The internal wall of the model was covered with a layer of cotton cloth that can be saturated with water to replicate the high humidity conditions in a human oral/pharyngeal/tracheal cavity. The physical model was placed in an oven set to normal human body temperature (37 °C), and measurements were taken under both wet and dry wall conditions. Deposition efficiency and hygroscopic growth from a MarkTen® e vapor product using a prototype formulation were determined by measuring cumulative aerosol mass from five puffs (gravimetric). Selected chemical constituents (propylene glycol [PG], glycerin, and nicotine) from a single puff were measured by GC/MS analysis at the entrance and exit of the physical model. Humidity at the exit of the physical model was maintained at >95 % under wet wall conditions. A constant air flow rate of 1.1 L/min was maintained during all the measurements. Under dry wall conditions mean aerosol mass decreased 19.7 % due to the regional deposition to the wall. Under wet wall conditions, the aerosol mass increased by 161 % due to moisture uptake by the aerosol. The deposition of nicotine and PG is higher than the deposition of glycerin under both dry and wet conditions. These experimental data will be used to validate computational models developed by Altria Client Services LLC.