Concentration of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in Mainstream and Sidestream Cigarette Smoke

Abstract

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been related to adverse health effects in recent years. Previous studies have reported ROS concentrations in mainstream smoke, but the reports have shown considerable variability and conclusions. There have been no prior measurements on sidestream smoke. In this study, the amounts of gas-phase and particle-bound ROS in tobacco smoke were determined using 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescin diacetate (DCFH-DA) as the fluorescent probe with hydrogen peroxide as the standard. Both research and commercially available cigarettes were tested using mainstream and sidestream smoke generated by a Single Cigarette Smoking Machine. For mainstream smoke from regular and light cigarettes, the total quantities of ROS were 120–150 nmol and 90–110 nmol, respectively. For sidestream smoke, the values were 60–90 nmol and 30–70 nmol for regular and light cigarettes, respectively. The effects of the cigarette filter on the emissions were to reduce the particle mass and particle-phase ROS in the mainstream smoke. Copyright 2012 American Association for Aerosol Research