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HRMAS NMR spectroscopy combined with chemometrics as an alternative analytical tool to control cigarette authenticity

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Abstract

In this paper, we present for the first time the use of high-resolution magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (HRMAS NMR) spectroscopy combined with chemometrics as an alternative tool for the characterization of tobacco products from different commercial international brands as well as for the identification of counterfeits. Although cigarette filling is a very complex chemical mixture, we were able to discriminate between dark, bright, and additive-free cigarette blends belonging to six different filter-cigarette brands, commercially available, using an approach for which no extraction procedure is required. Second, we focused our study on a specific worldwide-distributed brand for which established counterfeits were available. We discriminated those from their genuine counterparts with 100 % accuracy using unsupervised multivariate statistical analysis. The counterfeits that we analyzed showed a higher amount of nicotine and solanesol and a lower content of sugars, all endogenous tobacco leaf metabolites. This preliminary study demonstrates the great potential of HRMAS NMR spectroscopy to help in controlling cigarette authenticity.

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Acknowledgments

LS holds a Young Investigator Award from ANR (ANR-2011-JS08-014-01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aix Marseille Université, Centrale Marseille, CNRS, iSm2-UMR 7313, 13397, Marseille, France

    Laetitia Shintu, Stefano Caldarelli & Mylène Campredon

  2. Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles UPR 2301, Antenne Ecole Polytechnique, 91128, Palaiseau, France

    Stefano Caldarelli

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  1. Laetitia Shintu
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  2. Stefano Caldarelli
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Correspondence to Laetitia Shintu.

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Shintu, L., Caldarelli, S. & Campredon, M. HRMAS NMR spectroscopy combined with chemometrics as an alternative analytical tool to control cigarette authenticity. Anal Bioanal Chem 405, 9093–9100 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-013-7354-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-013-7354-7

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