Analysis of toxic metals in liquid from electronic cigarettes

Abstract

As the technology of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), including e-cigarettes, evolves, assessing metal concentrations in liquids among brands over time becomes challenging. A method for quantification of chromium, nickel, copper, zinc, cadmium, tin, and lead in ENDS liquids using triple quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was developed. The method’s limits of detection (LODs) were 0.031, 0.032, 3.15, 1.27, 0.108, 0.099, 0.066 µg/g for Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Sn, and Pb respectively. Liquids analyzed were from different brands and flavors of refill bottles or single-use, rechargeable, and pod devices from different years. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy further evaluated the device components’ compositions. Refill liquids before contacting a device were below lowest reportable levels (LRL) for all metals. Copper and zinc were elevated in liquids from devices containing brass. Cadmium was