• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.180-190
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• 2021

This study compared the efficacy of chiral GC and chiral HPLC for the analysis of nicotine. To develop a suitable dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) method, the following parameters were optimized: pH, extraction solvent, dispersive solvent, type and quantity of salt, and laboratory temperature. The validation of the method was carried out by the established HPLC method. The LODs were 0.11 ㎍/mL and 0.17 ㎍/mL for the (S)- and (R)- enantiomers, respectively. The LOQs were 0.30 ㎍/mL and 0.44 ㎍/mL, respectively. The optimal calibration range was between 0.30-18 ㎍/mL and 0.44-4.40 ㎍/mL, respectively, and the correlation coefficient (r²) was 0.9978-0.9996. The intra-day accuracy was 79.9-110.6 %, and the intra-day precision was 1.3-12.0 %. The inter-day accuracy was 87.8-108.0 %, and the inter-day precision was 4.0-12.8 %. E-liquid and biological fluids (urine and saliva) were analyzed using the established method.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.22-31
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• 2023

As the use of e-liquid cigarettes is rapidly increasing worldwide, it multiplies the potential risk undisclosed to the health of non- and smokers. To reduce the hazard, each country has its own set of regulations for controlling e-liquids. In Korea, the narrow definition of tobacco makes it difficult and have been steadily occurring tax evasion exploiting the difference in natural and artificial nicotine. Therefore, it is very important to distinguish source of nicotine for their regulation. To find biochemical discriminant markers, this study established analysis methods based on high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) and high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple Quadrupole mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) for nicotine enantiomers and tobacco alkaloids targeted using the difference in pathways of nicotine biosynthesis and chemical synthesis. The method was validated by experimenting linearity (R² > 0.999), recovery (80.99-108.41 %), accuracy (94.11-109.73 %) and precision (0.04-8.27 %). Then, the results for discrimination of the nicotine obtained from analysis of 65 commercial e-liquid products available in Korean market was evaluated. The method successfully applied to the e-liquids and one sample labelled 'synthetic nicotine' for tax exemption was found to contain a natural nicotine product. This method can be used to determine whether an e-liquid product uses natural or artificial nicotine and monitor non-taxable e-liquid products. The method is more scientific than the existing one, which relies only on field evidence.