Paper spray mass spectrometry for high-throughput quantification of nicotine and cotinine

The rapid release of new tobacco products requires high-throughput quantitative methods to support tobacco research. Sample preparation for LC-MS and GC-MS is time consuming and limits throughput. Paper spray tandem mass spectrometry (PS-MS/MS) is proposed and validated as a simple and rapid method for quantification of nicotine and cotinine in complex matrices to support tobacco-related research. Air liquid interface (ALI) human tracheobronchial epithelial cell (HTBEC) cultures were exposed to tobacco smoke using a Vitrocell VC-10 smoking machine. Apical culture washes (phosphate buffered saline, PBS) and basolateral media were analyzed with the PS-MS/MS method. GC-MS/MS was used as a comparative quantitative technique. The PS-MS/MS approach allowed for direct spotting of samples on the paper substrate, whereas the GC-MS/MS method required additional sample preparation in the form of solvent-solvent extraction. Limits of quantitation (LOQs) were higher with the PS-MS/MS approach than GC-MS/MS, but still below the relevant concentrations found in HTBEC smoke exposure experiments as well as most clinical applications. PS-MS/MS is readily achieved on mass spectrometers that include atmospheric pressure inlets, and allows for convenient quantification from complex matrices that would otherwise require additional sample preparation and chromatographic separation. © 2017 The Royal Society of Chemistry

Flavored e-cigarette liquids and cinnamaldehyde impair respiratory innate immune cell function

Innate immune cells of the respiratory tract are the first line of defense against pathogenic and environmental insults. Failure of these cells to perform their immune functions leaves the host susceptible to infection and may contribute to impaired resolution of inflammation. While combustible tobacco cigarettes have been shown to suppress respiratory immune cell function, the effects of flavored electronic cigarette liquids (e-liquids) and individual flavoring agents on respiratory immune cell responses are unknown. We investigated the effects of seven flavored nicotine-free e-liquids on primary human alveolar macrophages, neutrophils, and natural killer (NK) cells. Cells were challenged with a range of e-liquid dilutions and assayed for their functional responses to pathogenic stimuli. End points included phagocytic capacity (neutrophils and macrophages), neutrophil extracellular trap formation, proinflammatory cytokine production, and cell-mediated cytotoxic response (NK cells). E-liquids were then analyzed via mass spectrometry to identify individual flavoring components. Three cinnamaldehyde-containing e-liquids exhibited dose-dependent broadly immunosup-pressive effects. Quantitative mass spectrometry was used to determine concentrations of cinnamaldehyde in each of the three e-liquids, and cells were subsequently challenged with a range of cinnamaldehyde concentrations. Cinnamaldehyde alone recapitulated the impaired function observed with e-liquid exposures, and cinnamalde-hyde-induced suppression of macrophage phagocytosis was reversed by addition of the small-molecule reducing agent 1,4-dithiothreitol. We conclude that cinnamaldehyde has the potential to impair respiratory immune cell function, illustrating an immediate need for further toxicological evaluation of chemical flavoring agents to inform regulation governing their use in e-liquid formulations

Evaluation of e-liquid toxicity using an open-source high-throughput screening assay

The e-liquids used in electronic cigarettes (E-cigs) consist of propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerin (VG), nicotine, and chemical additives for flavoring. There are currently over 7,700 e-liquid flavors available, and while some have been tested for toxicity in the laboratory, most have not. Here, we developed a 3-phase, 384-well, plate-based, high-throughput screening (HTS) assay to rapidly triage and validate the toxicity of multiple e-liquids. Our data demonstrated that the PG/VG vehicle adversely affected cell viability and that a large number of e-liquids were more toxic than PG/VG. We also performed gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis on all tested e-liquids. Subsequent nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis revealed that e-liquids are an extremely heterogeneous group. Furthermore, these data indicated that (i) the more chemicals contained in an e-liquid, the more toxic it was likely to be and (ii) the presence of vanillin was associated with higher toxicity values. Further analysis of common constituents by electron ionization revealed that the concentration of cinnamaldehyde and vanillin, but not triacetin, correlated with toxicity. We have also developed a publicly available searchable website (www.eliquidinfo.org). Given the large numbers of available e-liquids, this website will serve as a resource to facilitate dissemination of this information. Our data suggest that an HTS approach to evaluate the toxicity of multiple e-liquids is feasible. Such an approach may serve as a roadmap to enable bodies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to better regulate e-liquid composition

Analysis of metals in solution using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ES-MS) has gained most of its recent attention because of the ability to produce multiply charged ions from very large biomolecules making them amenable to analysis by most modern mass spectrometers. However, ES-MS is equally well suited for compounds of low or moderate molecular weight that are difficult to volatilize intact by others methods. Moreover, the early work of Fenn and co-workers (1,2) and recent reports by Kebarle and co-workers (3,4) attest to the applicability of ES-MS to the study of the gas-phase chemistry of multiply solvated or coordinated metal ions. The utility of ES-MS for the analysis of metals in solution derives in part from the facility with which the metal ions are solvated by or form complexes with the ES solvent or other reagents added to the solvent. Solvation and complexation can be a hindrance, however, in the analytical application of ES-MS to the analysis of metals in solution, especially solutions of metals in water. The data presented here demonstrate that many of the problems in the ES-MS analysis of metals can be overcome by complexing the metals with crown ethers and/or extracting the metals from water into an organic phase using crown ethers. 5 refs., 4 figs

Chemical structural effects on γ-ray spectra of positron annihilation in fluorobenzenes

Spectra of γ-ray Doppler shifts for positron annihilation in benzene and its fluoro-derivatives are simulated using low energy plane wave positron (LEPWP) approximation. The results are compared with available measurements. It is found that the Doppler shifts in these larger aromatic compounds are dominated by the contributions of the valence electrons and that the LEPWP model overestimates the measurements by approximately 30%, in agreement with previous findings in noble gases and small molecules. It is further revealed that the halogen atoms not only switch the sign of the charges on carbon atoms that they bond to, but that they also polarize other C-H bonds in the molecule leading to a redistribution of the molecular electrostatic potentials. As a result, it is likely that the halogen atoms contribute more significantly to the annihilation process. The present study also suggests that, while the Doppler shifts are sensitive to the number of valence electrons in the molecules, they are less sensitive to the chemical structures of isomers that have the same numbers and type of atoms and, hence, the same numbers of electrons. Further investigation of this effect is warranted