ION MOBILITY SPECTROMETRY FOR CONTINUOUS ON-SITE MONITORING OF NICOTINE VAPORS IN AIR DURING THE MANUFACTURE OF TRANSDERMAL SYSTEMS

Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) can provide continuous on-site monitoring of nicotine in air exceeding in real-time the current OSHA eight hour exposure standard of 0.5 mg/m(3). A handheld IMS with water reagent gas, exhibited near instantaneous response, detection limits of 0.006 mg/m(3) and median relative standard deviations of 3.1% for vapor levels between 0.01 to 0.25 mg/m(3). Ion mobility spectra for nicotine showed characteristic product ions which were mass-identified as monomer (M . H+) and dimer (M(2) . H+) ions. Continuous monitoring of ambient air during the manufacture of nicotine-based transdermal systems demonstrated that short-lived, elevated concentrations of iso-propanol occurred when surfaces on the production equipment were cleaned. However, the concentration profile for nicotine in ambient air showed a gradual rise to a plateau with only minor ripple. High variability in personal samplers was attributed to localized concentrations of nicotine in the production equipment as identified using the hand-held IMS analyzer.