Nicotine salts - What you need to know

Posted by E-Liquids Superstore · January 24, 2019

WITHIN THE TOBACCO PLANT

NICOTINE OCCURS LARGELY IN 2 FORMS:

DIPROTONATED¹

MONOROTONATED¹

DIPROTONATED¹

MONOROTONATED¹

THEY ARE IONIC FORMS OF NICOTINE AKA NICOTINE SALTS²

source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK53014/

IN MOST E-LIQUIDS AND CIGARETTE SMOKE

NICOTINE OCCURS MAINLY IN 1 FORM:

UNROTONATED¹

THIS IS NICOTINE IN ITS FREEBASE FORM³

IN CHEMISTRY, PROTONATION IS THE ADDITION OF A PROTON (H⁺) TO AN ATOM, MOLECULE OR ION.

DEPROTONATION IS THE REMOVAL OF A PROTON (H⁺).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protonation

IN CHEMISTRY, A SALT IS THE RESULT OF A REACTION BETWEEN AN ACID AND A BASE (ALSO NAMED ALKALI) CALLED NEUTRALISATION.

https://www.britannica.com/science/salt- acid-base-reactions

THIS MEANS THE NICOTINE MOLECULE IS NOW FREE FROM THE PROTONS IT GAINED FROM THE REACTION WITH ACIDS. IT CAN BE DONE BY ADDING A BASIC FLUID TO THE SOLUTION LIKE AMMONIA.

3 NICOTINE FORMS, VERY DIFFERENT pH

THE HIGHER THE pH, THE BETTER ABSORPTION BUT IT ALSO BECOMES HARSHER⁴

source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/nicotine

IN CIGARETTES, HARSHNESS IS BALANCED WITH USE OF ANESTHESIANT CHEMICALS THESE ARE NOT ALLOWED FOR
E-LIQUID MANUFACTURE. TO REDUCE HARSHNESS, E-LIQUIDS NEEDS LESS NICOTINE

NIC-SALTS E-LIQUIDS

UNROTONATED¹

ORGANIC ACID

BENZOIC ACID
CITRIC ACID
SACCHARIC ACID
...

UNROTONATED¹

ORGANIC ACID

BENZOIC ACID
CITRIC ACID
SACCHARIC ACID
...

Depending on the acid used in the ionisation of nicotine, the pH levels vary. With the right formula, a smooth hit is possible with higher nicotine levels whilst maintaining quick absorption.

source: http://www.vaporclassification.com/reports/NICOTINE_SALTS_E-LIQUID.pdf