TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing vitamin E acetate as a proxy for E-cigarette additives in a realistic pulmonary surfactant model
AU - Korolainen, Hanna
AU - Olżyńska, Agnieszka
AU - Pajerski, Wojciech
AU - Chytrosz-Wrobel, Paulina
AU - Vattulainen, Ilpo
AU - Kulig, Waldemar
AU - Cwiklik, Lukasz
PY - 2024/12
Y1 - 2024/12
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - EVALI
KW - Lung surfactant
KW - Molecular dynamics simulation
KW - Pulmonary surfactant
KW - Vaping-associated pulmonary injury
KW - 114 Physical sciences
KW - 1182 Biochemistry, cell and molecular biology
KW - 116 Chemical sciences
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-024-75301-8
DO - 10.1038/s41598-024-75301-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 39394419
AN - SCOPUS:85206123002
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 14
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
IS - 1
M1 - 23805
ER -