title: An improved method for collecting breath for the assay of acetaldehyde.
abstract: An improved method is described for the collection of breath for the subsequent assay of acetaldehyde and other volatile components. Breath is collected in a Pyrex gas-collecting tube sealed at both ends with Teflon taps. Prior to collection or assay of the samples, this tube is heated to 72 degrees C; breath is sampled for assay by piercing a rubber septum on a sideport with the needle of a similarly heated gas-tight syringe, and injected into a gas chromatograph (GC). The advantages of this system are: (1) Avoidance of the artefacts encountered in the assay of acetaldehyde in the blood; (2) suitability for sample collection at a site remote from the GC laboratory; (3) avoidance of sample loss by leakage, contamination, or partitioning into water condensed from breath; and (4) compatibility with a "nondedicated" GC lacking any special gas-collecting circuitry. A typical study of a normal human volunteer is described, demonstrating the rise and fall of the concentration of acetaldehyde and ethanol in the breath following the ingestion of an oral dose of ethanol.
mesh_terms: D000079:Acetaldehyde / Q000032:analysis*; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001944:Breath Tests / Q000379:methods*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol; D000079:Acetaldehyde