Determination of salivary cotinine as tobacco smoking biomarker

Abstract

Cotinine, the first metabolite of nicotine, is often used as a biomarker in the monitoring of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure due to its longer half-life. The use of saliva to measure the concentration of cotinine is an attractive alternative to conventional biological matrices (such as blood and urine) due to its simple and non-invasive collection method. However, the detection of minute concentrations of cotinine in saliva poses a significant challenge. This review critically assesses the advantages and disadvantages of the most frequently used sample pre-treatment and detection methods for the analysis of salivary cotinine.