title: Acetonitrile as a possible marker of current cigarette smoking.
abstract: Volatile nitriles are present in cigarette smoke. We tested the hypothesis that the presence of any of four nitriles in the blood can serve as a marker of recent cigarette smoking. We determined the sensitivity and specificity of these nitriles as indicators of daily cigarette smoking in 24 smokers (Group A) and 18 non-smokers (Group B), as well as the correlation between intensity of daily smoking and the blood concentration of acetonitrile. A new head space GLC assay method was used. Of the four nitriles, only acetonitrile was present in the blood of any study subject. Acetonitrile was moderately sensitive (67%) and entirely specific (100%) for self-reported daily smoking. There was fair correlation between blood acetonitrile concentration and the average daily number of cigarettes smoked (r2 = 0.39; P = 0.001), and the mean blood acetonitrile concentration was significantly higher (P = 0.03) among subjects with higher (> 10 cigarettes per day) current cigarette exposure (148.3 +/- 18.0 micrograms/l) than among smokers with low or minimal (1-10 cigarettes per day) exposure (43.3 +/- 6.0 micrograms/l). Thus, acetonitrile in blood appears to be highly specific and a moderately sensitive marker of cigarette smoking with a dose-effect relationship. As such, acetonitrile shows promise as a marker of current cigarette exposure.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Toxicologie-Hôpital Fernand Widal, Paris, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Houeto
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Got
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dang Vu
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Baud
mesh_terms: D000097:Acetonitriles / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D012907:Smoking / Q000097:blood*; D014026:Nicotiana
chemical_list: D000097:Acetonitriles; D015415:Biomarkers; C032159:acetonitrile