Electronic cigarette-generated aldehydes: The contribution of e-liquid components to their formation and the use of urinary aldehyde metabolites as biomarkers of exposure

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarette) have emerged as a popular electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) in the last decade. Despite the absence of combustion products and toxins such as carbon monoxide (CO) and tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNA), carbonyls including short-chain, toxic aldehydes have been detected in e-cigarette-derived aerosols up to levels found in tobacco smoke. Given the health concerns regarding exposures to toxic aldehydes, understanding both aldehyde generation in e-cigarette and e-cigarette exposure is critical. Thus, we measured aldehydes generated in aerosols derived from propylene glycol (PG): vegetable glycerin (VG) mixtures and from commercial e-liquids with flavorants using a state-of-the-art carbonyl trap and mass spectrometry. To track e-cigarette exposure in mice, we measured urinary metabolites of 4 aldehydes using ULPC-MS/MS or GC-MS. Aldehyde levels, regardless of abundance (saturated: formaldehyde, acetaldehyde ≫ unsaturated: acrolein, crotonaldehyde), were dependent on the PG:VG ratio and the presence of flavorants. The metabolites of 3 aldehydes – formate, acetate, and 3-hydroxypropyl mercapturic acid (3-HPMA; acrolein metabolite) – were increased in urine after e-cigarette aerosol and mainstream cigarette smoke (MCS) exposures, but the crotonaldehyde metabolite (3-hydroxy-1-methylpropylmercapturic acid, HPMMA) was increased only after MCS exposure. Interestingly, exposure to menthol-flavored e-cigarette aerosol increased the levels of urinary 3-HPMA and sum of nicotine exposure (nicotine, cotinine, trans-3′-hydroxycotinine) relative to exposure to a Classic Tobacco-flavored e-cigarette aerosol. Comparing these findings with aerosols of other ENDS and by measuring aldehyde-derived metabolites in human urine following exposure to e-cigarette aerosols will further our understanding of the relationship between ENDS use, aldehyde exposure, and health risk.