Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 64, 00014, Helsinki, Finland.
J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Dolejškova 2155/3, 182 23, Prague, Czech Republic.
Sci Rep. 2024 Oct 11;14(1):23805. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-75301-8.
Additives in vaping products, such as flavors, preservatives, or thickening agents, are commonly used to enhance user experience. Among these, Vitamin E acetate (VEA) was initially thought to be harmless but has been implicated as the primary cause of e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury, a serious lung disease. In our study, VEA serves as a proxy for other e-cigarette additives. To explore its harmful effects, we developed an exposure system to subject a pulmonary surfactant (PSurf) model to VEA-rich vapor. Through detailed analysis and atomic-level simulations, we found that VEA tends to cluster into aggregates on the PSurf surface, inducing deformations and weakening its essential elastic properties, critical for respiratory cycle function. Apart from VEA, our experiments also indicate that propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin, widely used in e-liquid mixtures, or their thermal decomposition products, alter surfactant properties. This research provides molecular-level insights into the detrimental impacts of vaping product additives on lung health.
电子烟产品中的添加剂，如香料、防腐剂或增稠剂，通常用于提升用户体验。其中，维生素 E 醋酸酯 (VEA) 最初被认为是无害的，但已被认为是电子烟或蒸气产品使用相关肺损伤（一种严重的肺部疾病）的主要原因。在我们的研究中，VEA 可作为其他电子烟添加剂的替代品。为了探索其有害影响，我们开发了一种暴露系统，使富含 VEA 的蒸气作用于肺表面活性剂 (PSurf) 模型。通过详细分析和原子级模拟，我们发现 VEA 倾向于在 PSurf 表面聚集形成聚集体，导致其变形并削弱其至关重要的弹性特性，而这些特性对于呼吸周期功能至关重要。除了 VEA，我们的实验还表明，广泛用于电子烟液混合物中的丙二醇和植物甘油或它们的热分解产物会改变表面活性剂的特性。这项研究提供了有关电子烟产品添加剂对肺部健康的有害影响的分子水平见解。
