Rapid determination of chemical composition in the particulate matter of cigarette mainstream smoke

Particulate matter from mainstream smoke (MSS) is significantly hazardous when inhaled into the human body. An ambient ionization mass spectrometric method, direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS), was applied to rapidly and simultaneously measure multiple particulate components in MSS. A variety of compounds were obtained in seconds, where different types of cigarettes and different solvent extracts generated distinct chemical constituents as validated by principle component analysis. Chemical formula assignment and compound identification were based on accurate m/z values with mass errors <10 ppm. Quantitation of nicotine was achieved using an isotope internal standard with DART-MS. Method validation with chromatographic-MS analysis further proved the advantages of DART-MS with respect to analysis speed and operational simplicity for the direct evaluation of complex samples. DART-MS is feasible for the rapid acquisition of cigarette fingerprints for quality control as well as for quantitative assessment of carcinogens for harm reduction.