Practical Applications of Organic Chemistry: Improving Student Knowledge of GC–MS through Qualitative Analysis of Nicotine in Electronic Cigarette Vapors

Abstract

Given student familiarity with electronic cigarettes (e-cigs), this lab uses a student-built smoke collection apparatus to collect e-cig vapors to teach students about gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Students in a second semester, introductory organic chemistry course spent 1 week collecting e-cig vapors and 1 week qualitatively analyzing the data collected. In the real-world, the amount of nicotine inhaled by the consumer from an e-cig is going to depend on many variables including the vaping device used, inhalation rate, and voltage applied by the e-cig. This experiment allows students to simplify the vaping process and focus on the collection of nicotine in the e-cig vapor. Students compared the retention time of nicotine with an injection standard, quinoline, whose structural similarities provided strong discussions about the role of polarity and boiling points in chromatography. This injection standard ensured that all students would minimally be able to compare the retention time of two structurally similar compounds. Each lab group analyzed different e-cig liquids. Students improved upon their ability to interpret mass spectrometry data by predicting fragmentation patterns for both nicotine and quinoline. This lab experiment serves as a connection between lecture and lab material, while promoting student engagement and learning. The students who performed this experiment increased their knowledge of GC–MS and built foundational chemistry skills that can be applied to solve other real-world questions.