title: Solvent-free sample preparation by headspace solid-phase microextraction applied to the tracing of n-butyl nitrite abuse.
abstract: The most common alkyl nitrites encountered in forensic toxicology are iso-butyl, n-butyl and iso-pentyl(amyl) nitrites. All have become popular as an aphrodisiac, especially among the homosexual population. Alkyl nitrites are a volatile and unstable group of compounds, which hydrolyse in aqueous matrices to the alcohol and nitrite ion. Here we describe a fast, clean and sensitive procedure for the detection of hydrolysed n-butyl nitrite in whole human blood using a new, solvent-free sampling technique, the headspace solid-phase micro-extraction (HSPME), combined with GC/FID analysis. Sample preparation was investigated using two different stationary phases (100 microns polydimethylsiloxane and 85 microns polyacrylate), coating a fused silica fibre. The effect of different sampling times at fixed temperatures was also studied. Our results demonstrate that the HSPME/GC/FID procedure allows tracing of n-butyl nitrite abuse and detects hydrolysed n-butyl nitrite, i.e., released n-butanol, in whole blood at the 1 ng/mL level.
authors.affiliation: University of Leuven, Laboratory of Toxicology, Belgium.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tytgat
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Daenens
mesh_terms: D001344:Autopsy / Q000379:methods*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009573:Nitrites / Q000032:analysis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods*; D013696:Temperature; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D009573:Nitrites; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; C024225:n-butyl nitrite