Has the next-generation nicotine salt technology emerged? Research and application progress from Zinwi Biotech

The 12th Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum (GTNF) came to a close on September 30, 2022, US Eastern Time, in Washington, DC, with the theme of "Continuous Innovation". Dr. Liu Meisen, Chief Scientist of Zinwi Biotech, was invited to attend the summit and serve as the keynote speaker, sharing cutting-edge and hot topics in the tobacco and nicotine industry such as "ZTouch" next-generation nicotine salt technology with hundreds of scientists, regulators, industry leaders and other tobacco and nicotine industry elites from around the world.

A Brief Review of Nicotine Salt Technology

Before the invention of nicotine salt technology, free nicotine in aerosol liquids was easily volatile, unstable, and had a short shelf life. At the same time, the pungent taste would make users uncomfortable and affect their perception of aroma compounds.

Currently, the most widely used mainstream nicotine salt in the industry is a relatively stable compound formed by neutralizing nicotine with benzoic acid. It can not only reduce the throat irritation caused by free nicotine, but also increase the transfer speed of nicotine in the blood, making it easier to be absorbed and metabolized by the human body, and provide users with a more comfortable and pleasant vaping experience.

The application of nicotine salt technology has substantially promoted the evolution of e-cigarettes from open-type large-size devices to closed-type small-size ones, which is the key step for e-cigarette products to shift from being enjoyed by a small group of "enthusiasts" to being used by the general public. Meanwhile, the demand of consumers for the vaping sensation also continuously drives the technological innovation and iterative development of nicotine salt itself. Therefore, it can be seen that nicotine salt has played a crucial "catalyst" role in the evolution and development of the e-cigarette industry for over 20 years. So, should the development of nicotine salt technology stop at this point?

Why is the next-generation nicotine salt (ZTouch) technology needed?

Firstly, the demand from consumers has called for the emergence of next-generation nicotine salt (ZTouch) technology. In recent years, as the penetration rate of e-cigarette products has increased globally, the age and cognitive structure of e-cigarette consumers have improved significantly. Consumers' demand for sensory experience of e-cigarette products has shifted from being rough and vague in the past to being refined and conscious. In the face of the current global situation where the sensory discernment ability of e-cigarette consumers has greatly improved, the previous generation of nicotine salt technology can no longer meet the demand, resulting in a situation similar to the Andy-Bill paradox where hardware upgrades cannot keep up with software progress.

On the other hand, there is a clear trend of stricter regulation of e-cigarette products worldwide, with many countries and regions already or in the process of implementing restrictive regulatory policies for non-tobacco flavored e-cigarette products. Starting from October 1st, 2022, China's e-cigarette "national standard" clearly prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes other than tobacco flavor. In the United States, since 2020, e-cigarette products must pass the PMTA of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be legally marketed for sale. It is worth mentioning that out of the 21 e-cigarette products approved by the US FDA, only tobacco-flavored e-cigarette products were granted sales authorization, and warning letters were issued to many companies selling unapproved flavored e-cigarettes.

In Europe, although there is no ban on flavored e-cigarettes in the EU TPD2, some EU countries such as Lithuania, Finland, and the Netherlands have still banned the sale of other e-cigarettes beyond tobacco flavor. Recently, in the EU's TPD3 revision agenda, considering the attractiveness of flavored e-cigarette products to young people, the committee launched a public consultation on the ban on flavored e-cigarettes.

The trend of strict government regulation of non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes worldwide means that the era of "easy win" for e-cigarette product developers and manufacturers is over. The e-cigarette industry is facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities. Only by rising to the challenges and fundamentally solving the addiction problems of adult smokers worldwide, can e-cigarettes that truly meet the sensory needs of smokers be developed to break the current dilemmas faced by many international markets and turn risks into opportunities.

After nearly two years of continuous research and development and long-term exploration, True Taste Bio has found that the previous generation of nicotine salt has already solved the problems of stability and basic pleasure in suction. The next-generation nicotine salt (ZTouch) should focus on "restoring the real cigarette taste and overall suction experience," including specific indicators such as the aroma, moistness, and sweetness of the e-liquid.

Breakthrough in Nicotine Salt Technology for Authentic Tobacco Flavor

Currently, there is still a significant gap between the comfort level, smoke characteristics (delicacy, strength), and flavor style (richness, fragrance) of tobacco-flavored e-liquids on the market and traditional cigarettes. This is due to the differences in raw materials and quantities, smoke formation mechanisms, and other factors between e-liquids and traditional cigarettes, making it difficult for e-cigarettes to replicate the smoking quality of traditional cigarettes. Additionally, the composition of smoke is extremely complex. When traditional cigarettes are smoked at high temperatures, the hidden aroma substances in the cigarettes undergo rearrangement and decomposition (chemical changes), forming more small molecular compounds that have a more direct effect on the aroma. E-cigarettes, on the other hand, undergo only physical changes during the entire puffing process. In general, the burning of cigarettes involves the synergistic effect of physical and chemical changes, while e-cigarettes undergo only physical changes when heated. Therefore, even in traditional solutions, the addition of tobacco extracts to e-liquids can only get them infinitely close to the composition of cigarettes, but cannot fully reproduce the aroma of cigarettes.

Zinwi Biotech has been actively exploring new solutions to this problem, striving to develop new technologies to make e-liquids infinitely close to the true taste of tobacco and break down the "taste barrier" between e-liquids and traditional cigarettes. Through unremitting efforts and leveraging the dividends brought by digital transformation and upgrading, Zinwi Biotech has finally made a critical breakthrough, and the breakthrough point is in nicotine salt technology.

Zinwi Biotech has developed a new tobacco nicotine salt "ZTouch-T" technology. Unlike the traditional acid-base neutralization reaction principle between organic acids and freebase nicotine, the new tobacco nicotine salt "ZTouch-T" technology can better restore the natural state of nicotine in tobacco leaves.

The new tobacco nicotine salt "ZTouch-T" technology is not a simple acid-base neutralization reaction. Zinwi Biotech research has found that in natural tobacco leaves, freebase nicotine and organic acids are more similar to stable attraction in protonation processes. The new tobacco nicotine salt technology can restore the existence of nicotine in natural tobacco leaves, making the aerosol more similar to the smoke effect of burning cigarettes, ensuring the stability of nicotine salt, and bringing special aromas such as baking and roasted fragrance in thousands of physical and chemical experiments and sensory evaluations. It can even simulate the "burnt aroma" of cigarettes during combustion while enriching the tobacco flavor.

Zinwi's breakthrough in the field of sweet-flavored nicotine salt technology in the international market

Currently, the vast majority of the international e-cigarette market is dominated by sweet and fruity flavors, especially in markets such as the UK where there is high demand for sweet-flavored e-cigarettes. Therefore, Zinwi has been continuously working to improve their sweet-flavored e-cigarettes. Currently, benzoic acid is the mainstream organic acid used to produce e-liquids with nicotine in the industry. Unlike other organic acids, benzoic acid has a very light odor that does not affect the aroma of tobacco, fruit, and other flavors. However, the previous generation of benzoic acid nicotine salt e-liquids was unable to achieve a balance between aroma and sweetness, and had issues with oxidation, decay, and poor stability when used in closed disposable e-cigarettes, posing a significant technological challenge.

To address these issues, based on their deep accumulation in the field of e-liquid for disposable e-cigarettes in the past two years, Zinwi has developed the "ZTouch-S" nicotine salt technology. E-liquids that utilize this nicotine technology significantly improve the two major issues with benzoic acid salts, enhancing the smoothness and sweetness of the e-cigarette smoke after atomization, and improving the flavor and stability of the product.

In order to balance the aroma and sweetness, Zinwi used digital modeling and added alcohols, natural extracts, organic salts, and sugar compounds in the experiment. They also precisely calculated the ratios of each additive to nicotine and benzoic acid, as well as the reaction time and temperature during preparation to achieve better natural aroma restoration and strengthen the sweetness and smoothness of the smoke, improving the flavor.

Furthermore, these substances have a certain effect on the stability of e-liquids. For example, certain natural extracts contain antioxidant components, which can stabilize the various raw materials to work together and reduce the loss of effective ingredients, ensuring the stability of e-liquid quality.

Application prospects of ZTouch-T and ZTouch-S nicotine salts from the True Taste next-generation technology

The unique restoration of cigarette taste effect from the new tobacco nicotine salt "ZTouch-T" technology can help electronic cigarette consumers obtain a more comfortable and enjoyable sensory experience. As a leading enterprise in the field of e-liquid, Zinwi Biotech is committed to developing more natural tasting products and providing consumers with healthier nicotine solutions.

The "ZTouch-S" technology is a key upgrade based on the mainstream benzoic acid salt in the industry. This technology can help the aroma of e-liquid have better natural restoration, while enhancing the sweetness and smoothness of the smoke, improving the suction taste and quality of e-liquid. The synergistic enhancement of aroma and sweetness will make e-liquid more popular and recognized by the public, and promote the development of the electronic cigarette industry.

Currently, these two technologies have been partially applied in the e-liquid products of Zinwi Biotech. True Taste promises to continue to iterate on these two next-generation nicotine salt technologies, and provide customers with customized e-liquid based on these two nicotine salts through digital modeling and digital flavoring, allowing True Taste to bring technological overflow of innovation and development to its global B-end customers.

On the GTNF forum, Dr. Liu Meisen, on behalf of True Taste Biotechnology, discussed and explored the topic of "next-generation nicotine salt" with global experts. 

Dr. Liu mentioned that nicotine salt is the core raw material of e-liquid, which has a crucial impact on the taste of e-cigarettes. High-quality salt can enhance the taste, satisfy addiction, and provide products with more realistic flavors. Currently, benzoic acid salt is widely used, but it is difficult to highlight the characteristics of different flavors, such as sour fruits, non-sour fruits, baked flavors, and tobacco flavors. Therefore, there is a need for more suitable salts to render their characteristic flavors. Other acids that can be turned into salts, such as acetoacetic acid, lactic acid, and citric acid, have unique flavor characteristics. For example, acetoacetic acid can make fruit flavors more authentic. True Taste Biotechnology has made significant breakthroughs in key technologies to achieve a higher throat hit for low-nicotine salt, given the increasing government restrictions on nicotine content. Looking ahead, True Taste Biotechnology is confident and will continue to explore innovation in the nicotine salt field with the research capabilities of its headquarters in Shenzhen, Yunnan Research Institute, and True Taste research institutes in major global markets, ready to respond to various new challenges faced by the e-cigarette industry and be the "lone hero" in the process of "danger" and "opportunity" conversion for its customers.