CN100496313C - Cigarette filter - Google Patents

Abstract

A cigarette filter has a filter medium containing a basic amino acid or a basic amino acid salt and a moisturizing agent selected from the group consisting of glycerin, sodium propionate and sodium lactate.

Description

cigarette filter

technical field

The present invention relates to a cigarette filter capable of reducing the amount of aldehydes contained in mainstream smoke of a cigarette.

Background technique

The mainstream smoke that smokers exhale when smoking contains various chemical components. Among these chemical components, it is difficult to adsorb and remove aldehydes represented by formaldehyde by ordinary cigarette filters. Therefore, it is desirable to remove aldehydes from the mainstream smoke of cigarettes.

In the past, attempts have been made to use various additives in cigarette filters in order to adsorb and remove aldehydes contained in mainstream smoke of cigarettes. However, the use of conventional additives poses a problem of impairing the taste of tobacco.

Contents of the invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a cigarette filter capable of effectively reducing the amount of aldehydes in cigarette mainstream smoke while suppressing harmful effects such as deterioration of tobacco taste.

A cigarette filter tip according to one aspect of the present invention is characterized by comprising a filter medium containing a basic amino acid or a basic amino acid salt and a moisturizing agent.

The basic amino acid or basic amino acid salt used in the present invention is selected from arginine, arginine salt, lysine, lysine salt, histidine, histidine salt, ornithine, ornithine salt, citrulline, citrulline salt, hydroxyzine and hydroxyzine salt. The moisturizer used in the present invention is selected from glycerin, sodium propionate and sodium lactate.

In the cigarette filter of the present invention, it is preferable to contain 3.5 mg or more of a basic amino acid or a basic amino acid salt.

In the cigarette filter of the present invention, the ratio of the basic amino acid or basic amino acid salt to the moisturizing agent is preferably 1:1 to 1:2.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1 schematically represents the device structure of measuring the formaldehyde contained in cigarette mainstream smoke in the embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 represents the structural sectional view of the cigarette used in the embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 shows a graph of formaldehyde released according to the kind of alkaline substances added to cigarette filters;

Fig. 4 represents the relationship figure between the amount of water added to the cigarette filter tip and the formaldehyde released simultaneously with L-arginine;

Fig. 5 represents the relationship diagram of the glycerol that is added to the cigarette filter simultaneously with L-arginine and the water amount that increases in the cigarette filter;

Fig. 6 is a graph showing the release of formaldehyde according to the kind of moisturizer added to cigarette filters simultaneously with L-arginine.

Fig. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between the ratio of L-arginine and glycerin added to cigarette filters and the released formaldehyde.

best practice

The inventors of the present invention conducted extensive research in view of various viewpoints on additives intended to reduce aldehydes contained in mainstream cigarette smoke, and found that basic amino acids or basic amino acid salts are effective additives. The basic amino acid or basic amino acid salt used in the present invention is selected from, for example, arginine, arginine salt, lysine, lysine salt, histidine, histidine salt, ornithine, ornithine salt, citrulline, citrulline salt, hydroxyzine and hydroxyzine salt. Among these compounds, arginine and its salts are considered food additives.

The inventors of the present invention have also found that aldehydes contained in mainstream cigarette smoke can be more effectively removed by using a basic amino acid or a basic amino acid salt in combination with a moisturizer. Moisturizers for use in the present invention are selected from glycerin, sodium propionate and sodium lactate.

A conventional filter medium such as acetate tow, paper filter material, or pulp non-woven fabric can be used as a carrier (filter raw material) for the basic amino acid or basic amino acid salt and the moisturizing agent.

It is believed that in the cigarette filter of the present invention, aldehydes in the mainstream smoke of the cigarette are reduced by the following mechanism. First, aldehydes contained in mainstream cigarette smoke are dissolved in water held by a humidifier carried by the filter. Next, the aldehydes dissolved in water are reacted with the basic amino acid or basic amino acid salt carried by the filter to be trapped in the filter. Of note: the humectant acts to stably retain the water used to dissolve the aldehydes.

In the cigarette filter of the present invention, the content of basic amino acid or basic amino acid salt should be 3.5 mg or more, because if the content is less than 3.5 mg, it is difficult to obtain a sufficient effect of reducing aldehydes.

Furthermore, in the cigarette filter of the present invention, the ratio of the basic amino acid or basic amino acid salt to the moisturizing agent is set to 1:1 to 1:2. If the above-mentioned ratio is not within the above-mentioned range, it is difficult to obtain a sufficient effect of reducing aldehydes.

In order to make the filter medium contain a basic amino acid or a basic amino acid salt and a wetting agent, methods such as spraying, dipping and roller transfer can be applied.

In addition to basic amino acids or basic amino acid salts and wetting agents, the filter medium can also contain activated carbon.

The configuration of the filter can be flat, dual, multi-section with three or more sections, or filler-void-filler. A basic amino acid or a basic amino acid salt and a moisturizer may be contained in a part or all of the segments of the filter.

The cigarette filter of the present invention may be a filter attached to the tobacco portion of a cigarette as a mouth-tip assembly or in the form of a cigarette stem.

Example:

In the method for measuring aldehydes contained in mainstream cigarette smoke applied in the following examples, derivatives of 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) (collected substances) were measured using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The substances that can be simultaneously determined by this method are the following 8 components: formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, acrolein, propionaldehyde, crotonaldehyde, methyl ethyl ketone and n-butyraldehyde. In the following examples, all descriptions are for formaldehyde among the aldehydes (carbonyl compounds) to be tested.

First, a collection solution was prepared by dissolving 9.51 g of 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) in 1 L of acetonitrile, then, adding 5.6 ml of 60% perchloric acid, and then dissolving the resulting solution with ultrapure water. Dilute to 2L.

The structure of the measuring device will be described with reference to FIG. 1 . As shown in FIG. 1 , a DNPH collection solution 12 is placed in a Drechset type trap 11 . The Drexel absorber 11 has an internal volume of 250 mL, a volume of DNPH collection solution of 100 mL, and a dead volume of 150 mL. The Drexel absorber 11 was placed in an ice-water bath 13 for cooling. The lower end of the glass tube 14 topped with the cigarette 1 is immersed in the collection solution 12 in the Drexel absorber 11. In addition, a glass tube 15 and a bridge pad (Cambridge pad) 16 are installed so as to communicate to the dead volume of the Drexel absorber 11 and an automatic smoker 17 is connected to the bridge pad 16 .

The cigarette 1 is connected to the glass tube 14, so that the cigarette 1 is automatically smoked under the standard smoking conditions stipulated by the ISO standard. More specifically, the operation of inhaling 35 mL of smoke in a single puff of 2 seconds was repeated for one cigarette at intervals of 58 seconds. When the mainstream smoke bubbles, the 8 carbonyl compounds are converted into derivatives of DNPH. Measurements were performed using 2 cigarettes.

The derivatives thus produced were measured by HPLC. First, filter the collection solution, then dilute the collection solution with Trizma Base solution (collection solution 4mL: Trizma Base solution 6mL). Then, this dilution was assayed by HPLC. The measurement conditions of HPLC are as follows.

Column: HP LiChrospher 100RP-18 (5μ) 250×4mm

Guard column: HP LiChrospher 100RP-18 (5μ) 4×mm

Column temperature: 30°C

Detection wavelength: DAD356nm

Injection volume: 20μL

Mobile phase: 3-phase gradient (liquid A: ultrapure aqueous solution containing 30% acetonitrile, 10% tetrahydrofuran and 1% IPA; liquid B: ultrapure aqueous solution containing 65% acetonitrile, 1% tetrahydrofuran and 1% IPA; liquid C: 100% acetonitrile).

The structure of the cigarette used as a sample will be described with reference to the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 2 . As shown in Figure 2, this cigarette has tobacco part 20 and filter tip part 30, and in tobacco part 20, shredded tobacco 21 is wrapped by wrapping paper 22, and in filter tip part 30, wraps filter tip 31 by wrapping paper (forming paper) 32. The filter portion 30 is attached to the tobacco portion 20 using tipping paper. For example, tow of cellulose acetate can be used as the filter material.

In testing cigarettes prepared using test filters containing a basic amino acid or a basic amino acid salt and a moisturizing agent added thereto, the tobacco portion was removed by cutting off the acetate filter from a commercial cigarette with a tar content of 6 mg, and the tobacco Partially connected to the test filter to prepare a test sample. A basic amino acid or a basic amino acid salt and a moisturizing agent are added to the test filter using an atomizer.

Test 1:

A 25 mm long acetate filter was prepared as a base filter. Also, the basic filter was made to contain 6.5 mg of water, thereby preparing a test filter as a reference. In addition, a basic filter was made to contain 6.5 mg of water and 3.5 mg of an additive to prepare a test filter. The additive is selected from nitrogen-containing basic substances such as L-arginine, glutamic acid arginate, hydrazide formate, ammonia water, acetamide and urea.

Sample cigarettes were prepared by attaching each filter tip to the above-mentioned tobacco portion, and the amount of formaldehyde released in the mainstream smoke of each cigarette (µg/cigarette) was measured by the above-mentioned measuring method. Figure 3 is a graph showing the results. Figure 3 clearly demonstrates that L-arginine as a basic amino acid and glutamic acid arginine as a salt of a basic amino acid are particularly effective in reducing formaldehyde emissions compared to a basic filter containing only water.

At the same time, it was found that in order to reduce the amount of formaldehyde released, the amount of L-arginine or glutamic acid arginine salt in the filter tip is preferably 3.5 mg or more.

Test 2:

Basic filters were made with 3.5 mg L-arginine and varying amounts of water. Sample cigarettes were prepared by attaching filters each containing a different amount of water to the above tobacco portion, and the formaldehyde emission (µg/cigarette) in the mainstream smoke of each cigarette was measured by the above measurement method. Figure 4 is a graph showing the results. It can be clearly understood from Fig. 4 that when the filter tip contains 3.5 mg L-arginine, if the water content of the filter tip is 5 mg or more, the amount of formaldehyde in mainstream smoke can be effectively reduced.

Trial 3:

To examine the increase in water in the filter, a basic filter was made containing L-arginine and glycerin as a humectant. Set the content of L-arginine to 3.5mg, 7.0mg or 10.5mg. Set the glycerin content to 18mg or 52mg. Figure 5 is a graph showing the results. Figure 5 clearly demonstrates that the amount of water retained by the filter increases with the amount of humectants such as glycerin.

Test 4:

Reference test filters containing no moisturizer were prepared by making the base filter contain only 3.5 mg L-arginine. Furthermore, a test filter was prepared by making the basic filter contain 3.5 mg of L-arginine and a moisturizing agent. The moisturizer is selected from glycerin, xylitol, sodium pantothenate, sodium PCA, sodium lactate, sodium propionate, sodium DL-malate, D-mannose and calcium chloride. Sample cigarettes were prepared by attaching each test filter to the above-mentioned tobacco portion, and the amount of formaldehyde released in the mainstream smoke of each cigarette (µg/cigarette) was measured by the above-mentioned measurement method. Figure 6 is a graph showing the results. It can be clearly seen from Figure 6 that compared with the case of the basic filter containing only L-arginine, the use of glycerin, sodium lactate and sodium propionate as moisturizers can effectively reduce the release of formaldehyde. These moisturizers are also suitable in view of the filter manufacturing process.

Test 5:

Various test filters were prepared in which the base filter contained 3.5 mg L-arginine and varying amounts of sodium lactate as a humectant. Set the ratio of sodium lactate to L-arginine at 1:1, 1:2 or 1:3.

Sample cigarettes were prepared by attaching each test filter to the above-mentioned cigarette portion, and the formaldehyde emission (µg/cigarette) in the mainstream smoke of each cigarette was measured by the above-mentioned measuring method. Figure 7 is a graph showing the results. Fig. 7 proves that by making the ratio of L-arginine and sodium lactate contained in the basic filter tip to be 1:1 or 1:2, the emission of formaldehyde in mainstream smoke can be effectively reduced.

Industrial Applicability

The cigarette filter tip of the present invention can effectively reduce the amount of aldehydes contained in mainstream smoke of cigarettes.

Claims (1)

1. cigarette filter, it comprises and contains (a) basic amino acid or alkaline amino acid salt and (b) filter medium of humidizer, described basic amino acid or alkaline amino acid salt are selected from arginine, arginine salt, lysine, lysine salt, histidine, histidine salt, ornithine, ornithine salt, citrulling, citrulling salt, hydroxyzine and hydroxyzine salt, and the content of basic amino acid or alkaline amino acid salt is 3.5mg～10.5mg; Described humidizer is selected from sodium propionate and sodium lactate; The ratio of basic amino acid or alkaline amino acid salt and humidizer is 1:1～1:2.

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