Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39078936›Full record

ArticleChemical research in toxicology2024

Conditions Leading to Ketene Formation in Vaping Devices and Implications for Public Health.

Ping Wang, Peyton Jacob, Zhong-Min Wang, Jefferson Fowles, Donal F O'Shea, Jeff Wagner, Kazukiyo Kumagai

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Chemical research in toxicology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Cannabis concentrate vaping chemistry.Frontiers in toxicology · 2025
    Review
  3. 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

7 authors.

Ping WangEnvironmental Health Laboratory, Center for Laboratory Science, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, California 94804, United States.
Peyton JacobDepartment of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-3366-2775
Zhong-Min WangEnvironmental Health Laboratory, Center for Laboratory Science, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, California 94804, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-5536-523X
Jefferson FowlesEnvironmental Investigation Branch, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, California 94804, United States.
Donal F O'SheaDepartment of Chemistry, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin D02 YN77, Ireland.ORCID 0000-0003-0594-4193
Jeff WagnerEnvironmental Health Laboratory, Center for Laboratory Science, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, California 94804, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-4337-622X
Kazukiyo KumagaiEnvironmental Health Laboratory, Center for Laboratory Science, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, California 94804, United States.

Funding

Research Support CoreP30DA012393 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI JACOB, PEYTON, JONES, REESE T. · 1999 to 2024
$17.1M
Liquid Chromatograph-Triple Quadrupole Mass SpectrometerS10RR026437 · NCRR · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI JACOB, PEYTON · 2010 to 2010
$448k
NCRR NIH HHS S10 RR026437NIDA NIH HHS P30 DA012393
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The outbreak of e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury (EVALI) in the United States in 2019 led to a total of 2807 hospitalizations with 68 deaths. While the exact causes of this vaping-related lung illness are still being debated, laboratory analyses of products from victims of EVALI have shown that vitamin E acetate (VEA), an additive in some tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-containing products, is strongly linked to the EVALI outbreak. Because of its similar appearance and viscosity to pure THC oil, VEA was used as a diluent agent in cannabis oils in illicit markets. A potential mechanism for EVALI may involve VEA's thermal decomposition product, ketene, a highly poisonous gas, being generated under vaping conditions. In this study, a novel approach was developed to evaluate ketene production from VEA vaping under measurable temperature conditions in real-world devices. Ketene in generated aerosols was captured by two different chemical agents and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The LC-MS/MS method takes advantage of the high sensitivity and specificity of tandem mass spectrometry and appears to be more suitable than GC-MS for the analysis of large batches of samples. Our results confirmed the formation of ketene when VEA was vaped. The production of ketene increased with repeat puffs and showed a correlation to temperatures (200 to 500 °C) measured within vaping devices. Device battery power strength, which affects the heating temperature, plays an important role in ketene formation. In addition to ketene, the organic oxidant duroquinone was also obtained as another thermal degradation product of VEA. Ketene was not detected when vitamin E was vaped under the same conditions, confirming the importance of the acetate group for its generation.

Indexed as

Electronic Nicotine Delivery SystemsEthylenesKetonesVapingGas Chromatography-Mass SpectrometryHumansLung InjuryPublic HealthVitamin EEthylenesketeneKetonesVitamin E

Identifiers

PMID39078936
PMCPMC11423956

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Registered trials

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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.