Beginning in June of 2019, there was a marked increase in reported cases of serious pulmonary injury associated with vaping. The condition, referred to as e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated ...lung injury (EVALI), does not appear to involve an infectious agent; rather, a chemical adulterant or contaminant in vaping fluids is suspected. In August of 2019, the Wadsworth Center began receiving vaporizer cartridges recovered from patients with EVALI for analysis. Having no a priori information of what might be in the cartridges, we employed untargeted analyses using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and high-resolution mass spectrometry to identify components of concern. Additionally, we employed targeted analyses used for New York medical marijuana products. Here, we report on the analyses of 38 samples from the first 10 New York cases of EVALI for which we obtained cartridges. The illicit fluids had relatively low cannabinoid content, sometimes with unusual Δ
-/Δ
-tetrahydrocannabinol ratios, sometimes containing pesticides and many containing diluents. A notable diluent was α-tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E acetate; VEA), which was found in 64% of the cannabinoid-containing fluids. To investigate potential sources of the VEA, we analyzed six commercial cannabis-oil diluents/thickeners. Three were found to be >95% VEA, two were found to be primarily squalane, and one was primarily α-bisabolol. The cause(s) of EVALI is unknown. VEA and squalane are components of some personal care products; however, there is growing concern that vaping large amounts of these compounds is not safe.
E-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) is a serious pulmonary condition that is associated with the extended use of certain vaping products. EVALI was first characterized in ...the summer of 2019 and has since been reported in all 50 U.S. states. From August 2019 through June 2021, the New York State Department of Health has reported more than 197 confirmed cases emanating from all regions of the state. The Wadsworth Center at the New York State Department of Heath received vaping cartridges recovered from EVALI patients for chemical analysis of their contents. Untargeted analytical methods using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry as well as targeted analyses for a variety of analytes including cannabinoids, pesticides, vitamin E acetate (VEA) and mycotoxins were used to characterize the composition of the vaping fluids and several commercial vaping fluid additives. From the analyses of the 284 e-cigarette devices recovered from patients, 82 were found to be nicotine-containing pods, and 202 devices containing cannabis oil, apparently from unauthorized or black-market dealers. The fluids from the cannabis-oil cartridges tended to have lower levels of THCs (Δ
9
-tetrahydrocannabinol + Δ
8
-tetrahydrocannabinol) and total cannabinoids compared with those of commercially produced formulations and contained significant levels of diluents including VEA, medium-chain triglycerides, polyethylene glycol, and castor oil. VEA was the diluent most frequently detected, which was present in 132 (65.3%) of the vaping fluids that contained cannabis oil. When present, VEA ranged from 2.0 to 67.8% of the total mass of the oil with a mean content of 37.0%. In some cases, two or three diluents were detected in the same sample. The ratio of VEA to THCs varied widely, from 0.07 to 5.34. VEA and specifically the high ratios of VEA to THCs in black-market vaping fluids may be causative in EVALI. The safety of additional components and additives that are present in vaping fluids are likewise of concern.
The most relevant human urinary metabolites of cocaine (nine metabolites) were measured in urban wastewater in Italy and USA. A novel analytical method based on liquid chromatography tandem mass ...spectrometry allowed the identification of ecgonine, ecgonine methyl ester and the pyrolytic derivatives of cocaine in untreated wastewater. The aim of this study was to verify whether the pattern of cocaine metabolites in wastewater reflected the human excretion profile in urine. The performance of the method was good, with recoveries higher than 60% and limits of quantifications in the low ng/L range. The stability in untreated wastewater was assessed for all metabolites and the best storage condition resulted freezing samples immediately after collection and keep them frozen until analysis. All the selected compounds were measured in wastewater at concentrations up to 1.5 μg/L and their weekly loads were calculated during a five weeks monitoring campaign in Milan (Italy). The profiles of cocaine metabolites in wastewater matched with those in human urine reported in the literature, suggesting that measures in wastewater reflect the real human excretion and that wastewater analysis is suitable for assessing drug consumption. Benzoylecgonine was confirmed as the best target for estimating cocaine use by wastewater analysis, while cocaine itself should not be considered because its amount in wastewater is affected by other environmental sources such as transport, handling and consumption. Results suggested that the measurement of other metabolites in combination with benzoylecgonine might reflect 60% of an administered dose of cocaine providing also information on different patterns of use.
► Cocaine and its most relevant urinary metabolites were measured in urban wastewater in Italy and USA. ► Weekly loads of the main metabolites of cocaine increased during the weekend. ► The pattern of cocaine metabolites in wastewater reflected the human excretion profile in urine. ► Wastewater analysis of drugs metabolites is suitable for assessing drug consumption in a population. ► Wastewater analysis can provide information on different pattern of use of a drug.
The goal of this project is to develop liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) methods for the analysis of different, novel micropollutants in waste water and natural water. ...Micropollutants are compounds that can exert adverse environmental and human health effects at low concentrations. Most of these compounds include personal care products and pharmaceuticals, such as antibiotics and controlled substances. In the first part of this study, we focused in the analysis of illicit drugs and drug metabolites because these analyses have the potential to serve as markers of drug abuse. We have detected over sixteen different illicit drugs and their metabolites in wastewater taken from a small school campus in northern Illinois. The most abundant and consistent drugs found in the wastewater were cannabinol, amphetamines and cocaine. The concentrations of these drugs are being monitored at regular time intervals for the purpose of determining the total drug consumption of a targeted population. This type of drug testing (of small, demographically well-defined populations) has the potential to provide a more accurate snapshot of drug use than surveys (which are currently used) that rely on self-reporting. The information about drug consumption acquired through wastewater testing can inform public health initiatives and anti-drug campaigns without being personally invasive. The success of these initiatives can be measured by making wastewater measurements before and after they are undertaken. In the second part of this study, we developed a method that would allow us to determine the identities of unknown or novel chemicals contributing to water pollution. We applied full scan tandem mass spectrometric techniques such as constant neutral loss scan and precursor ion scan to detect novel pollutants in water. We detected over 160 glucuronides metabolites and over 60 chlorinated organic compounds in influents by constant neutral loss scanning method. Then by two different precursor ion scanning methods, we detected over 80 chlorinated organic compounds in influents. In the Lake water samples, we detected about 36 glucuronide metabolites and about 22 chlorinated organic compounds which were analyzed by constant neutral loss and precursor ion scan methods respectively. The identities of these compounds may be inferred through accurate mass analysis of molecule and product ions. Once the identity of a potential pollutant is determined, quantification in water may be done by isotope dilution mass spectrometry. We anticipate many of these micropollutants (derived from pharmaceuticals and personal care products) may exert adverse effects on biota and humans at low concentrations upon continuous exposure from sources such as drinking water.
Fatty acids are one of the most important classes of naturally occurring organic compounds. Various organisms have distinctive fatty acid profiles. Therefore analyzing fatty acids present in soil and ...sediments can provide important information on sources of origin of the organic matter. Analysis of fatty acids by gas chromatography requires derivatization to produce a derivative volatile enough for gas chromatography followed by mass spectrometric (GC/MS) analysis. In this work conventional acid catalyzed derivatization methods and tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) chemopyrolysis methods were examined and compared. Results obtained for Lake Mead sediments show the variation of fatty acids profile with depth, which leads to an important information on sources of organic matter present in the lake.
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