Overview
ISO 23922:2020 - "Cigarettes - Determination of selected carbonyls in the mainstream smoke of cigarettes with an intense smoking regime - Method using high performance liquid chromatography" - specifies a laboratory method to quantify selected carbonyl compounds in mainstream cigarette smoke. The method derivatizes carbonyls with 2,4‑dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) and analyses the resulting hydrazones using reversed‑phase HPLC with UV or diode‑array detection (HPLC‑UV/DAD). Target analytes include formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, acrolein, propionaldehyde, crotonaldehyde, 2‑butanone and n‑butyraldehyde.
Key topics and requirements
- Analytes and chemistry: Measurement of eight selected carbonyls as DNPH derivatives (2,4‑DNP hydrazones).
- Smoking regime: Mainstream smoke generated under an intense smoking regime (as used in ISO 20778 / Health Canada T‑115 parameters).
- Trapping and derivatization: Smoke is drawn through impingers containing acidified DNPH in 1:1 acetonitrile:water to trap and derivatize carbonyls.
- Sample preparation: Filtration (e.g., 0.45 µm PVDF syringe filter), dilution with tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane solution, and amber vial handling to avoid degradation.
- HPLC analysis: Reversed‑phase C18 column (example given: 250 × 4 mm, 5 µm) with appropriate guard column; HPLC‑UV or HPLC‑DAD detection and specified mobile phase reagents.
- Calibration and quantification: Use of DNPH‑derivatized calibration standards, calibration curve construction and sample quantification procedures.
- Quality and validation: Guidance on apparatus, reagents, glassware cleaning, repeatability/reproducibility (results from a 2012 collaborative study are referenced), and test reporting.
- Safety and limitations: The standard includes warnings about hazardous materials and explicitly notes that machine‑smoking data are not measures of human exposure or risk.
Applications and users
ISO 23922:2020 is designed for:
- Tobacco analytical laboratories performing product characterization and emissions testing.
- Regulatory agencies assessing product constituents for compliance or surveillance.
- Manufacturers and R&D groups developing or comparing cigarette designs and emissions.
- Research institutions studying smoke chemistry and toxicant yields.
Typical applications include routine emissions monitoring, comparative studies across products, method standardization for inter‑laboratory comparability, and use as input data for hazard assessments (with the noted caveat about human exposure).
Related standards
- ISO 20778 - routine analytical cigarette smoking machine (intense regime)
- ISO 3402 - conditioning and testing atmosphere for tobacco
- ISO 8243 - cigarette sampling
- ISO 5725‑1 / 5725‑2 - accuracy (used for collaborative study statistics)
Keywords: ISO 23922:2020, carbonyls, mainstream smoke, DNPH, HPLC‑UV/DAD, cigarette testing, intense smoking regime, tobacco analysis.