Measurement of Aldehydes in Replacement Liquids of Electronic Cigarettes by Headspace Gas Chromatography-mass Spectrometry

The electronic cigarette (E-cigarette) is a battery-powered device that aerosolizes nicotine so that it is readily delivered into the respiratory tract. The analytical data regarding the substances present in E-cigarettes are very limited. The aim of this study was to measure the concentration of aldehydes-formaldehyde (FA), acetaldehyde (AA) and, acrolein (AL)-in 225 replacement liquid brands from 17 E-cigarette shops sold in the Republic of Korea by headspace solid-phase micro extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME GC-MS). The concentration range of FA and AA was 0.02-10.09 mg/L (mean = 2.16 mg/L, detected in 207 of 225 samples) and 0.10-15.63 mg/L (mean = 4.98 mg/L, detected in all samples), respectively. AL was not detected in any of 225 replacement liquids. FA and AA were originally present in almost all replacement liquids of electronic cigarettes.