The analysis of polar compounds in cigarette ashes by GC–MS/MS

The newly developed gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method allows the analysis of non-volatile, polar substances in cigarette ash. Only a few mg of ash, derivatized by two-step silanization with hexamethyldisilazane and N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide, are necessary for the analysis. Samples are directly analyzed after derivatization, without the need of extraction as a next purification step. Differences in chromatographic profiles reflect the composition uniqueness of each matrix and can be used for product authentication by chromatographic fingerprint method. The method was used to differentiate between cigarette ash samples of three cigarette brands (Marlboro, Davidoff, and West) and can be useful for forensic purposes.