Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34460924›Full record

ArticleNicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco2022

Stability of Varenicline Concentration in Saliva Over 21 Days at Three Storage Temperatures.

Maria Novalen, Meghan J Chenoweth, Bin Zhao, Larry W Hawk, Rachel F Tyndale

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 39% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Do lab-based assessments of pretreatment smoking reinforcement and cue-specific craving predict smoking cessation with varenicline?Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2025
    Trial
  2. Trial
  3. Relationships Between the Nicotine Metabolite Ratio and Laboratory Assessments of Smoking Reinforcement and Craving Among Adults in a Smoking Cessation Trial.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2024
    Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Nicotine Dependence in a Banned Market: Biomarker Evidence from E-Cigarette Users in São Paulo, Brazil.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
    Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Maria NovalenDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Meghan J ChenowethDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Bin ZhaoDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Larry W HawkDepartment of Psychology, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA.
Rachel F TyndaleDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-1297-2053
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health · CAUniversity at Buffalo, State University of New York · USUniversity of Toronto · CA

Funding

University of Buffalo Clinical and Translational Science Institute - Supplement SchulyerUL1TR001412 · NCATS · STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO · PI MURPHY, TIMOTHY F · 2015 to 2024
$33.8M
EVarQuit: Extinguishing cigarette smoking via extended pre-quit vareniclineR01CA206193 · NCI · STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO · PI HAWK, LARRY W, MAHONEY, MARTIN CHRISTOPHER · 2017 to 2021
$3.7M
CIHR FDN-154294NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001412NCI NIH HHS R01 CA206193
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionVarenicline is the most efficacious drug for smoking cessation; saliva varenicline concentrations can be useful for the evaluation of adherence in smoking cessation trials. Saliva is a useful noninvasive matrix for mail-in specimen collection, if stable. We investigated the stability of varenicline in saliva at different storage temperatures simulating the time it takes to mail in a sample.

methodsWe evaluated the concentrations of varenicline, nicotine, cotinine, 3'-hydroxycotinine, and 3'-hydroxycotinine/cotinine (3HC/COT) ratio in quality control saliva samples (and after repeated freezing and thawing), and in smokers' saliva samples, stored for up to 21 days at room temperature (~25°C), 4°C, and -80°C.

resultsIn saliva quality control samples, concentrations of varenicline, nicotine, cotinine, 3'-hydroxycotinine, and 3HC/COT remained unchanged and showed little within-sample variation (CV ≤ 5.5%) for up to 21 days at the three storage temperatures; they were also not altered after three thaw-freeze cycles. In smokers' saliva, a significant main effect of storage duration, but not temperature, was observed for varenicline, cotinine, and 3'-hydroxycotinine, but not for nicotine or the 3HC/COT ratio. However, these changes were within analytical (i.e., equipment) variation resulting in little within-sample variation (CV ≤ 5.8%) for all analytes in smokers' saliva.

conclusionsVarenicline, the other analytes, and the 3HC/COT ratio remained stable in saliva during storage for 21 days at all temperatures tested and after repeated freezing and thawing with only minor changes in concentration over time. These findings support the potential use of mail-in approach for saliva samples in varenicline smoking cessation clinical trials. IMPLICATIONS: Assessing saliva varenicline concentrations can be useful for the evaluation of adherence in smoking cessation trials. Saliva is a noninvasive matrix suitable for mail-in specimen collection. This is the first investigation of stability of varenicline in saliva. Varenicline, nicotine, cotinine, 3'-hydroxycotinine, and 3HC/COT were stable in saliva for up to 21 days at room temperature (~25°C), 4°C, and -80°C, supporting the use of a mail-in approach for saliva specimen in smoking cessation trials.

Indexed as

SalivaSmoking CessationCotinineHumansNicotineTemperatureVareniclineCotinineNicotineVarenicline

Identifiers

PMID34460924
PMCPMC9013001
OpenAlexW3197501179

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.