Simultaneously Determination of the Ketone Flavor Composition in the Heated Tobacco Product by GC-MS/MS

Ketone compounds are important neutral aroma components in heated cigarette smoke, and which play a significant role in the taste of heated cigarettes. In order to analyze the content of ketone aroma components in heated cigarette smoke, a method of gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) was established for the simultaneous quantitative determination of 28 kinds of ketone aroma substances. A tube furnace was used to heat the cigarette core material, and the ketone aroma components in the smoke were captured by the solvent absorption method. The ketone aroma capture device can realize the release and capture of flue gas under different atmospheres and multi-gradient temperatures. The method was verified through limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), repeatability experiment and spike recovery experiment. The heated cigarettes with different flavors were heated and their smoke were captured by using the tube furnace heating-organic solvent absorption method. After heating and capturing, 1 mL of smoke absorption liquid was taken and filtered through a 0.22 µm organic filter, then the sample was continuously injected 6 times to the chromatographic instrument to measure the content of ketone compounds in the smoke absorption liquid, and this step was repeated for 6 days, finally the intra-day and inter-day RSDs of 28 kinds of ketone substances were calculated. With the above detected amount as the benchmark, a mixed standard solution of 28 kinds of ketone flavor substances was added to the smoke absorption liquid, in which the amount of each ketone substance added was 50%, 100% and 200%, respectively, the recovery rate for each ketone was calculated. The results showed that the LODs and LOQs of 28 kinds of ketone compounds are 0.65-2.77 μg/L and 2.18-9.24 μg/L, respectively, the recovery rate is 81.88%-119.32%, and the intra-day precision is 0.04%-3.51% (n=6), the inter-day precision is 0.11%-3.36% (n=6). The analytical method can meet the requirements of quantitative analysis and effectively distinguish dihydro-β-ionone/geranylacetone and farnesyl acetone/farnesylacetone. This method was used to detect ketone aroma substances in the smoke of 27 heated cigarettes with different flavor. The results showed that the total content of ketones is different in the smoke of different heated cigarettes with different flavor, and the content of some ketones varies greatly, which gives the heated cigarette different flavor. This method may conduct in-depth analysis of tobacco products and is of great significance to the development of new tobacco products.