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TSRC, Tob. Sci. Res. Conf., 2019, 73, abstr. 026

Nicotine dissolution in smokeless tobacco products

QIAN N.; DERRY T.; ADAMS C.J.; CHOUCHANE S.
Eurofins Professional Scientific Services, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

Nicotine absorption and its levels in smokeless tobacco products have been studied extensively by researchers in recent years. However, there are limited dissolution profiling methods available for the analysis of nicotine in tobacco products. As a result, we developed and validated a method for nicotine dissolution in smokeless tobacco products. The dissolution is carried out in buffered solution on a dissolution apparatus, which is coupled to an automated sampling station using 8-channel filter plate for sample filtration and direct collection into autosampler vials. Dissolved nicotine at different timepoints are subsequently analyzed using a Waters Acquity UPLC with TUV detector. The separation uses Waters Atlantis T3 column with 3 μm particle size, 50 mm length x 3.0 mm diameter under isocratic elution. This validated method has an LOQ of 0.1µg/mL for nicotine. Profiles are generated by plotting %dissolved nicotine versus time. The method validation parameters include specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, range, robustness, solution stability, and determination of LOD and LOQ. Both the rate of dissolution (profiles) and final level of dissolved nicotine are determined. The ranges of tested nicotine levels (at infinity) are found to vary from 2.0-14.0 mg/g for the smokeless tobacco products that were studied.