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 ?g/l) than among smokers with low or minimal (1-10 cigarettes per day) exposure (43.3 ± 6.0 ?g/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.
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