Electronic (e-)cigarettes have emerged in recent years as putative alternative to conventional tobacco cigarettes. These products do not contain typical carcinogens that are present in tobacco smoke, due to the lack of combustion. However, besides nicotine, hazards can also arise from other constituents of liquids, such as solvents, flavors, additives and contaminants. In this study, we have analyzed 28 liquids of seven manufacturers purchased in Germany. We confirm the presence of a wide range of flavors to enhance palatability. Although glycerol and propylene glycol were detected in all samples, these solvents had been replaced by ethylene glycol as dominant compound in five products. Ethylene glycol is associated with markedly enhanced toxicological hazards when compared to conventionally used glycerol and propylene glycol. Additional additives, such as coumarin and acetamide, that raise concerns for human health were detected in certain samples. Ten out of 28 products had been declared "free-of-nicotine" by the manufacturer. Among these ten, seven liquids were identified containing nicotine in the range of 0.1-15 µg/ml. This suggests that "carry over" of ingredients may occur during the production of cartridges. We have further analyzed the formation of carbonylic compounds in one widely distributed nicotine-free brand. Significant amounts of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and propionaldehyde were only found at 150 °C by headspace GC-MS analysis. In addition, an enhanced formation of aldehydes was found in defined puff fractions, using an adopted machine smoking protocol. However, this effect was delayed and only observed during the last third of the smoking procedure. In the emissions of these fractions, which represent up to 40 % of total vapor volume, similar levels of formaldehyde were detected when compared to conventional tobacco cigarettes. By contrast, carbonylic compounds were hardly detectable in earlier collected fractions. Our data demonstrate the necessity of standardized machine smoking protocols to reliably address putative risks of e-cigarettes for consumers.

Consumers of combustible cigarettes are exposed to many different toxicologically relevant substances associated with negative health effects. Newly developed “heat not burn” (HNB) devices are able to contain lower levels of Harmful and Potentially Harmful Constituents (HPHCs) in their emissions compared to tobacco cigarettes. However, to develop toxicological risk assessment strategies, further independent and standardized investigations addressing HPHC reduction need to be done. Therefore, we generated emissions of a commercially available HNB product following the Health Canada Intense smoking regimen and analyzed total particulate matter (TPM), nicotine, water, aldehydes, and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are major contributors to health risk. We show that nicotine yield is comparable to typical combustible cigarettes, and observe substantially reduced levels of aldehydes (approximately 80–95%) and VOCs (approximately 97–99%). Emissions of TPM and nicotine were found to be inconsistent during the smoking procedure. Our study confirms that levels of major carcinogens are markedly reduced in the emissions of the analyzed HNB product in relation to the conventional tobacco cigarettes and that monitoring these emissions using standardized machine smoking procedures generates reliable and reproducible data which provide a useful basis to assess exposure and human health risks.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s00204-018-2215-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Analogues of the argininamide-type NPY Y1 receptor (Y1R) antagonist BIBP3226, bearing carbamoyl moieties at the guanidine group, revealed subnanomolar Ki values and caused depression of the maximal response to NPY (calcium assay) by up to 90% in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, suggesting insurmountable antagonism. To gain insight into the mechanism of binding of the synthesized compounds, a tritiated antagonist, (R)-N(α)-diphenylacetyl-N(ω)-[2-([2,3-(3)H]propionylamino)ethyl]aminocarbonyl-(4-hydroxybenzyl)arginin-amide ([(3)H]UR-MK299, [(3)H]38), was prepared. [(3)H]38 revealed a dissociation constant in the picomolar range (Kd 0.044 nM, SK-N-MC cells) and very high Y1R selectivity. Apart from superior affinity, a considerably lower target off-rate (t1/2 95 min) was characteristic of [(3)H]38 compared to that of the higher homologue containing a tetramethylene instead of an ethylene spacer (t1/2 3 min, Kd 2.0 nM). Y1R binding of [(3)H]38 was fully reversible and fully displaceable by nonpeptide antagonists and the agonist pNPY. Therefore, the insurmountable antagonism observed in the functional assay has to be attributed to the extended target-residence time, a phenomenon of relevance in drug research beyond the NPY receptor field.

Synthesis and characterization of (R)-N(alpha)-(2,2-diphenylacetyl)-N-(4-hydroxybenzyl)-N(omega)-([2,3-(3)H]-propanoyl)argininamide ([(3)H]-UR-MK114), an easily accessible tritium-labeled NPY Y(1) receptor (Y(1)R) antagonist (K(B): 0.8 nM, calcium assay, HEL cells) derived from the (R)-argininamide BIBP 3226, is reported. The radioligand binds with high affinity (K(D), saturation: 1.2 nM, kinetic experiments: 1.1 nM, SK-N-MC cells) and selectivity for Y(1)R over Y(2), Y(4), and Y(5) receptors. The title compound is a useful pharmacological tool for the determination of Y(1)R ligand affinities, quantification of Y(1)R binding sites, and autoradiography.

The popularity and the high nicotine content of the American pod e-cigarette JUUL have raised many concerns. To comply with European law, the nicotine concentration in the liquids of the European version, which has been recently released on the market, is limited to below 20 mg/mL. This limit can possibly be circumvented by technological adjustments that increase vaporization and consequently, elevate nicotine delivery. In this study, we compare vapor generation and nicotine delivery of the initial European version, a modified European version, and the original American high-nicotine variant using a machine vaping setup. Additionally, benzoic acid and carbonyl compounds are quantified in the aerosol. Further, concentrations of nicotine, benzoic acid, propylene glycol, and glycerol, along with the density and pH value of JUUL e-liquids have been assessed. Whereas the initial European version did not compensate for the low nicotine content in the liquid, we provide evidence for an increased vaporization by the modified European version. As a consequence, nicotine delivery per puff approximates the American original. Notably, this is not associated with an increased generation of carbonyl compounds. Our data suggest a similar addictiveness of the enhanced European version and the original American product.