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TSRC, Tob. Sci. Res. Conf., 2023, 76, abstr. 16

Survey of metals present in the e-liquid of aged close pod-based and cigalike electronic-cigarettes from the North American market

LAVISETTY P.; COLLINS D.; COOK D.; HUMPHRIES K.; GILLMAN I.G.
Juul Labs, Inc., Washington, DC, USA

Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) aerosolize a nicotine containing e-liquid, which aerosol is inhaled during product use. The e-liquid is contained within the ENDS which is the container closure system. During prolonged storage, the e-liquid has the potential to corrode metal components, such as the heating element, resulting in metals leaching into the e-liquid. The objective of this study was to analyze levels of metals in the e-liquids of North American market ENDS products stored for more than 24 months at ambient temperature. The study included 27 samples comprising several brands, flavors, and batches of both closed pod and cigalike ENDS devices. Samples were analyzed using CORESTA Recommended Method No. 98 which was validated in-house for a range of metals. The method’s limits of detection (LODs), expressed in µg/g, were 0.007 (Chromium), 0.007 (Nickel), 0.008 (Copper), 0.007 (Cadmium) and 0.007 (Lead), 0.088 (Zinc), 0.015 (Iron), 0.005 (Antimony), 0.005 (Tin). The method’s limit of quantitation (LOQ) was 0.05 µg/g for all the metals except 0.5 µg/g for Zinc and Iron. Nickel, copper, and zinc were observed in most of the e-liquids in the range of 0.051 to 298.771 µg/g, 0.051 to 351.810 µg/g, and 0.589 to 184.306 µg/g respectively. Lead, chromium, iron, antimony, and tin were observed in some of the e-liquids in the range of 0.231 to 21.183 µg/g, 0.05 to 13.252 µg/g, 0.1 to 46.430 µg/g, 0.064 to 1.119 µg/g and 0.1 to 1.85 µg/g, respectively. Cadmium was not detected for all liquids. The data demonstrate that some metals can leach into e-liquids following prolonged storage at ambient temperature. Further, the results indicate that the amount of leaching varies among manufacturers and formulations.