Abstract
Our headspace gas chromatographic flame ionization detection (HS-GC-FID) method for ethanol determination showed slightly, but consistently, low ethanol concentrations in whole blood (blood) in proficiency testing programs (QC-samples). Ethanol and acetaldehyde were determined using HS-GC-FID with capillary columns, headspace equilibration temperature (HS-T°) of 70 °C and 20 min equilibration time (HS-EqT). Full factorial designs were used to study the variables HS-T° (50°–70 °C), HS-EqT (15–25 min), ethanol concentration (0.20–1.20 g/kg) and storage at room temperature (0–6 days) with three sample-sets; plasma, hemolyzed blood and non-hemolyzed blood. A decrease in the ethanol concentration in blood was seen as a nearly equivalent increase in the acetaldehyde concentration. This effect was not observed in plasma, indicating chemical oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde in the presence of red blood cells. The variables showed different magnitude of effects in hemolyzed and non-hemolyzed blood. A decrease in ethanol concentration was seen even after a few days of storage and also when changing the HS-T° from 50 to 70 °C. The formation of acetaldehyde was dependent on all the variables and combinations of these (interactions) and HS-T° was involved in all the significant interaction effects. Favorable instrumental conditions were found to be HS-T° of 50 °C and HS-EqT of 15–25 min. The ethanol concentrations obtained for the range 0.04–2.5 g/kg after analyzing authentic forensic blood samples with a HS-T° of 50 °C were statistically significantly higher than at 70 °C (+0.0154 g/kg, p < 0.0001, n = 180). In conclusion, chemical oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde in the presence of red blood cells has been shown to contribute to lowered ethanol concentrations in blood samples. Storage conditions before analysis and the headspace equilibration temperature during analysis were important for the determination of blood ethanol concentrations.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
