Acrylamide Analysis in Tobacco, Alternative Tobacco Products, and Cigarette Smoke

A new liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) method for the analysis of acrylamide in tobacco, alternative tobacco products (wet snuff, snus, orbs, strips, and sticks), and cigarette smoke was developed and evaluated. Besides the LC-MS-MS method, two additional procedures for acrylamide analysis were also developed with the purpose of comparison. A thorough evaluation of the LC-MS-MS technique was performed for typical characteristics of an analytical method such as selectivity, precision, accuracy, range of measurable levels, robustness. The method was found perfectly fit for the analyses of acrylamide in the tobacco, tobacco products, and smoke matrix. Although not essential, the sensitivity of the method was further increased by using a concentration step on a graphitized carbon solid phase cartridge, allowing the measurement of as low as 300 pg/mL and detection of 90 pg/mL acrylamide in solution. Several tobacco samples, alternative tobacco products, and smoke from several cigarettes including commercial cigarettes from the US market, 2R4F, and 3R4F Kentucky reference cigarettes were analyzed. The levels of acrylamide in tobaccos were about 100 ng/g, or lower. The levels found in snus and one brand of wet snuff was also below 100 ng/g. A wintergreen wet snuff had about 180 ng/g, strips had about 126 ng/g and the sticks about 367 ng/g acrylamide. The cigarette smoke had levels of acrylamide around 1 µg/cig or higher.