More and more teenagers and young adults are vaping, whether it be to quit smoking or to look cool. Because of this, there is an increased potential for young adults to be exposed to bisphenol-A (BPA) though the plastic mouthpieces on the vapes. BPA is a molecule that is added in many plastics to make the plastic harder. Unfortunately, BPA is structurally similar to estrogen, which means BPA can bind to estrogen receptors. This has been linked to many issues in humans such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and reproductive problems. In recent years, BPA has been removed from many items such as water bottles, but vaping mouthpieces remain unregulated, therefore, there is a possibility that BPA could be used in making them. Because people who vape come in contact with their vaping mouthpieces multiple times throughout the day, they have a high risk of exposure to any BPA that may be in the plastic. To examine the levels of BPA in vaping mouthpieces, several mouthpieces were tested for BPA content. There were two different test groups. The first were ceramic mouthpieces, which do not contain BPA. The second were plastic mouthpieces. In order to determine the amount of BPA that was released from each mouthpiece, the mouthpieces were submerged in 50/50 methanol-water. Aliquots were taken at regular intervals, and then samples were tested using a FS-5 spectrofluorometer by Edinburgh Instruments to determine the concentration of BPA leached from the plastic into the methanol-water as a function of time.

Determination of BPA in vaping mouthpieces using spectrofluorometry

2019 Spring National Meeting

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