Assessing vitamin E acetate as a proxy for E-cigarette additives in a realistic pulmonary surfactant model

Hanna Korolainen, Agnieszka Olżyńska, Wojciech Pajerski, Paulina Chytrosz-Wrobel, Ilpo Vattulainen, Waldemar Kulig, Lukasz Cwiklik

Forskningsoutput: TidskriftsbidragArtikelVetenskapligPeer review

Sammanfattning

Additives in vaping products, such as flavors, preservatives, or thickening agents, are commonly used to enhance user experience. Among these, Vitamin E acetate (VEA) was initially thought to be harmless but has been implicated as the primary cause of e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury, a serious lung disease. In our study, VEA serves as a proxy for other e-cigarette additives. To explore its harmful effects, we developed an exposure system to subject a pulmonary surfactant (PSurf) model to VEA-rich vapor. Through detailed analysis and atomic-level simulations, we found that VEA tends to cluster into aggregates on the PSurf surface, inducing deformations and weakening its essential elastic properties, critical for respiratory cycle function. Apart from VEA, our experiments also indicate that propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin, widely used in e-liquid mixtures, or their thermal decomposition products, alter surfactant properties. This research provides molecular-level insights into the detrimental impacts of vaping product additives on lung health.

Originalspråkengelska
Artikelnummer23805
TidskriftScientific Reports
Volym14
Nummer1
Antal sidor11
ISSN2045-2322
DOI
StatusPublicerad - dec. 2024
MoE-publikationstypA1 Tidskriftsartikel-refererad

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  • 1182 Biokemi, cell- och molekylärbiologi
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