Multicomponent Analysis of Replacement Liquids of Electronic Cigarettes Using Chromatographic Techniques

The electronic cigarette (e-cig) is an invention of the past few years and its popularity is rapidly growing all over the world. A rapid mul-ticomponent analytical protocol for the analysis of the replacement liquids (e-liquids) of e-cig was developed using gas (GC) and liquid chromatography (LC)–mass spectrometry (MS). GC–MS-based methods were developed for the determination of the main humec-tants and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). For the determi-nation and quantification of nicotine (NIC) and nitrosamines, appropriate LC–MS-based methods were developed. The approbated methods were applied for the analysis of 263 e-liquid samples ob-tained from the Greek market. The instruments response was linear; the limits of quantification ranged from 0.003 mg/mL for three PAHs to 1.187 mg/mL for glycerol. The precision was <16 % for all ana-lytes, while the mean accuracy ranged from 99.1 % for NIC to 106.6 % for the flavor 2,5-dimethylpyrazine. The measured concentra