Institute for Infection Prevention and Control, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Breisacher Strasse 115b, 79106, Freiburg, Germany.
Institute for Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
Food Chem Toxicol. 2023 Dec;182:114157. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2023.114157. Epub 2023 Oct 29.
The increasing use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), also known as e-cigarettes, has raised serious public health concerns, particularly regarding certain vaping product additives. The solvent carrier liquid, which consists of a mixture of propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerine (VG), representing the main constituents of e-liquid formulations, have in contrast received little attention in health evaluations due to their apparent harmlessness when ingested; however, they can develop into potential lung hazards when heated, aerosolised and inhaled from ENDS with a user-defined heating profile. To assess the acute toxicity of the respirable aerosol, an effect-based in vitro testing strategy was applied in dependence of the heating power settings in ENDS. Human alveolar epithelial cells (A549) were exposed to vaping aerosol at the air-liquid interface (ALI), flanked by targeted chemical analyses of reactive carbonyl species. An exploratory, semi-automated in vitro exposure system provided evidence of a positive connection between vaporisation temperature and aerosol toxicity. Thermochemical transformation of the solvent leads to the formation of both cytotoxic and genotoxic substances that may disrupt lung homeostasis. Toxicity is therefore not limited to the presence of additives, as most harmful volatiles originate from the solvent itself, ultimately related to the device power output.
电子尼古丁传送系统（ENDS），也称为电子烟的使用日益增加，引起了严重的公共卫生关注，特别是某些蒸气产品添加剂。溶剂载体液体由丙二醇（PG）和植物甘油（VG）的混合物组成，是电子烟液配方的主要成分，由于摄入时显然无害，在健康评估中几乎没有受到关注；然而，当它们从具有用户定义加热曲线的 ENDS 加热、气溶胶化并被吸入时，可能会变成潜在的肺部危害。为了评估可吸入气溶胶的急性毒性，根据 ENDS 中的加热功率设置，应用了基于效应的体外测试策略。人肺泡上皮细胞（A549）在气液界面（ALI）处暴露于蒸气气溶胶中，同时对反应性羰基物种进行靶向化学分析。探索性的半自动体外暴露系统提供了证据，证明蒸发温度与气溶胶毒性之间存在正相关。溶剂的热化学转化导致细胞毒性和遗传毒性物质的形成，这些物质可能破坏肺内稳态。因此，毒性不仅限于添加剂的存在，因为大多数有害挥发物都来自溶剂本身，最终与设备的功率输出有关。
