Kim Eun Jae, Kwon Eunjung, Oh Seo Jung, Choi Mi Ran, Lee Sang-Rae, Jung Byung Hwa, Lee Wonwoong, Hong Jongki
College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, South Korea.
Advanced College of Bio-Convergence Engineering, School of Medicine, Ajou University, Suwon 16449, South Korea.
J Chromatogr A. 2025 May 24;1749:465909. doi: 10.1016/j.chroma.2025.465909. Epub 2025 Mar 25.
The use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) has gained popularity worldwide for reducing the unpleasant odors and flavors of smoking marijuana. However, due to the high vaporization temperature of the heating coil in e-cigarettes, cannabinoids could be converted into secondary cannabinoid products, potentially causing unintended psychological and harmful effects. A lab-built impinger and aerosol collection device was prepared to study the thermal transformation of cannabinoids during e-cigarette vaping, optimizing collection conditions according to variations in coil wattage, cartridge oil, and collection solvents. Thermal conversion of individual cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), cannabidiol (CBD), and Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ-THC) in e-cartridge liquid was performed with increasing coil power from 45 W to 105 W. Collected aerosol solution was derivatized with trimethylsilyl reagents and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) scan mode. Thermal vaping profiles of individual authentic cannabinoids were studied according to the variation of coil power of the e-cigarette. During the CBDA vaping process of the e-cigarette, most of the acidic CBDA was converted to neutral CBD through thermal decarboxylation and further degraded to produce several thermal products. Several interesting psychoactive Δ-iso and Δ-THC isomers, and cannabichromene (CBC) and CBD quinone (CBDQ) were observed from the vaping process of CBDA and CBD. In the case of Δ-THC vaping, psychoactive hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) derivatives and cannabinol (CBN), were produced via thermal reduction and oxidation. These thermal products were identified by comparing retention times and mass spectra of authentic standards and interpreting their mass spectra. The amounts of most thermal products were increased with increasing coil power from 45 W to 105 W. In contrast, potentially harmful CBDQ was found to be highest amount at 45 W and decreased with increasing coil power. From the profile data and identification results, thermal transformation pathways of cannabinoids during the vaping process are proposed. This study will provide important information on the formation mechanism of thermal conversion products and basic guidance for risk assessment of Cannabis oil vaping by e-cigarette.
电子烟因能减少吸食大麻时产生的难闻气味和味道而在全球范围内广受欢迎。然而，由于电子烟加热线圈的汽化温度较高，大麻素可能会转化为次级大麻素产品，从而可能产生意想不到的心理和有害影响。制备了一种实验室构建的冲击器和气溶胶收集装置，以研究电子烟雾化过程中大麻素的热转化情况，并根据线圈功率、烟弹油和收集溶剂的变化优化收集条件。随着线圈功率从45瓦增加到105瓦，对电子烟弹液体中单个大麻二酚酸（CBDA）、大麻二酚（CBD）和Δ-四氢大麻酚（Δ-THC）进行热转化。收集的气溶胶溶液用三甲基硅烷基试剂衍生化，并通过气相色谱-质谱联用（GC-MS）扫描模式进行分析。根据电子烟线圈功率的变化，研究了单个纯大麻素的热雾化曲线。在电子烟的CBDA雾化过程中，大部分酸性CBDA通过热脱羧转化为中性CBD，并进一步降解产生几种热产物。在CBDA和CBD的雾化过程中，观察到了几种有趣的具有精神活性的Δ-异构体和Δ-THC异构体，以及大麻色烯（CBC）和CBD醌（CBDQ）。在Δ-THC雾化的情况下，通过热还原和氧化产生了具有精神活性的六氢大麻酚（HHC）衍生物和大麻酚（CBN）。通过比较纯标准品的保留时间和质谱图并解释其质谱，鉴定了这些热产物。随着线圈功率从45瓦增加到105瓦，大多数热产物的量增加。相比之下，潜在有害的CBDQ在45瓦时含量最高，并随着线圈功率的增加而减少。根据曲线数据和鉴定结果，提出了雾化过程中大麻素的热转化途径。本研究将为热转化产物的形成机制提供重要信息，并为电子烟吸食大麻油的风险评估提供基本指导。
