Abstract
A simple, cost-effective and fast headspace gas chromatography method coupled with flame ionization detection (HS-GC/FID) for determination of ethanol was developed and validated for clinical and forensic toxicology purposes. HS-GC/FID is often used for alcohol determination in different biological and non-biological samples. The calibration dependence of the method was linear in the range from 0.15 to 4.00 g dm-3 (r2=0.999) with adequate accuracy (99?106 %) and precision. The limit of detection (LOD) was 0.006 g dm-3. The method was quantitative (LOQ) above 0.020 g dm-3. The new method was successfully used for determination of ethanol in biological samples of intoxicated patients, car accidents participants, participants in criminal acts, and postmortem samples, non-biological samples such as alcoholic beverages, alcohol-based herbal preparations, cosmetic preparations, etc. This method is easy to perform, making it suitable not only for the routine applications in clinical biochemistry and forensic laboratories, but also in different fields of industry (e.g. for pharmaceutical preparations, cosmetics, dietary supplements, etc.). Some of the applications for ethanol determination in different samples related to various clinical-forensic cases are presented.
Highlights
Ethanol is a substance of high toxicological significance
Due to the complex matrix of biological samples, static headspace sampling is the sampling method used for ethanol analysis because the column and injector are protected so that contamination will not occur; while gas chromatography (GC)/FID is employed for analyte separation and detection [11,17,18]
The method for determination of ethanol was validated according to the guidelines established by the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) and the Scientific Working Group for Forensic Toxicology (SWGTOX) [19]
Summary
Ethanol is a substance of high toxicological significance. Undoubtedly, it is one of the most commonly found psychoactive substances in forensic and clinical toxicology. Due to the number of samples received, a toxicological laboratory requires a rapid and accurate analytical method for determining ethanol concentration [15]. Headspace gas chromatography with flame-ionization detection (HS-GC– FID) has become a gold standard for ethanol analysis because of ease of automation, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity [16]. It allows a relatively large number of samples to be analyzed quickly, with a minimal amount of manual. Due to the complex matrix of biological samples, static headspace sampling is the sampling method used for ethanol analysis because the column and injector are protected so that contamination will not occur; while GC/FID is employed for analyte separation and detection [11,17,18]. This paper aims to validate a quantitative HS-GC/FID method for ethanol assessment in biological and non-biological samples and to present its application in resolving various clinical-forensic cases
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