Simultaneous determination of volatile organic compounds and carbonyls in mainstream cigarette smoke using a sorbent cartridge followed by two-step elution

• We developed a new analytical method for VOCs and carbonyls in mainstream cigarette smoke.
• The current method has advantages compared to the traditional impinger method.
• All adsorbates can be eluted by two-step elution.
• Measurement values by CX-572 cartridge method are very close to those obtained by traditional impinger method.
• CX-572 cartridge method can measure cigarette smoke one puff volume.

We developed a simple method for the simultaneous determination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and carbonyls in the mainstream cigarette smoke using a sorbent cartridge at ambient temperature without the traditional cryogenic impinger. A sorbent cartridge is installed between intake filter and the pump of the smoking machine. Collection of cigarette mainstream smoke is performed according to the Canadian Intense regime or the ISO regime. As adsorbent, Carboxen 572 (CX-572) is the most suitable for collection of VOCs and carbonyls in the mainstream cigarette smoke. Elution of VOCs and carbonyls from CX-572 is performed by the two-step elution with carbon disulfide and methanol. VOCs are eluted by first elution with carbon disulfide and carbonyls are eluted by second elution with methanol. For VOCs, a portion of eluate is analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. For carbonyls, a portion of eluate is derivatized with enriched 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine solution and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Measurement values by CX-572 cartridge method are very close to those obtained by traditional impinger method except for 2-butanone. Impinger methods use 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine solution containing 50% water and 2-butanone-DNPhydrazone may be hydrolyzed with water. In the CX-572 method, the hydrolysis of 2-butanone is prevented because the eluate solution contains no water. CX-572 method can measure cigarette smoke resulting from not only one whole cigarette but also from one puff volume because of its high sensitivity and simple operation.