CO2 LASER-PHOTOACOUSTIC STUDY OF EXHALED BREATH PRODUCED BY ELECTRONIC vs. TRADITIONAL CIGARETTES

CO2 laser-photoacoustic technology was used to investigate the suitability of ethylene as biomarker for active smoking with electronic cigarettes (E-cigarettes) vs. traditional cigarettes (T-cigarettes). Higher levels of ethylene in the composition of breath after T-cigarettes inhalation was found in comparison with the inhalation with E-cigarettes. The goal of this study was to explore and verify that E-cigarettes are not a potential cause of damage in the human lung tissue at smokers. The CO2 laser-photoacoustic spectroscopy is suitable for the detection of ethylene in exhaled breath, producing feasible and reproducible results which discriminate active smoking with E-cigarettes vs. T-cigarettes. This study is probably the first measurement of the ethylene response from the damage of the human lung tissue at exhaled breath of E-cigarettes smokers. Exhaled breath air analysis using CO2 laser-photoacoustic spectroscopy is a non-invasive method, safe, rapid and acceptable to subjects, with promising potential in monitoring and diagnostics of ethylene patterns from active smoking vs. healthy breath samples.