Blood cyanide determination in two cases of fatal intoxication: comparison between headspace gas chromatography and a spectrophotometric method.
Blood samples of two cases were analyzed preliminarily by a classical spectrophotometric method (VIS) and by an automated headspace gas chromatographic method with nitrogen-phosphorus detector (HS-GC/NPD). In the former, hydrogen cyanide (HCN) was quantitatively determined by measuring the absorbance of chromophores forming as a result of interaction with chloramine T. In the automated HS-GC/NPD method, blood was placed in a headspace vial, internal standard (acetonitrile) and acetic acid were then added. This resulted in cyanide being liberated as HCN. The spectrophotometric (VIS) and HS-GC/NPD methods were validated on postmortem blood samples fortified with potassium cyanide in the ranges 0.5-10 and 0.05-5 mug/mL, respectively. Detection limits were 0.2 mug/mL for VIS and 0.05 mug/mL for HS-GC/NPD. This work shows that results obtained by means of the two procedures were insignificantly different and that they compared favorably. They are suitable for rapid diagnosis of cyanide in postmortem cases.
Gambaro
Veniero
V
Istituto di Chimica Farmaceutica e Tossicologica, Università degli Studi di Milano, Viale Abruzzi 42, 20131 Milano, Italy. veniero.gambaro@unimi.it
Arnoldi
Sebastiano
S
Casagni
Eleonora
E
Dell'acqua
Lucia
L
Pecoraro
Chiara
C
Froldi
Rino
R
D000328:Adult; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods*; D003486:Cyanides / Q000097:blood* / Q000506:poisoning*; D005260:Female; D053593:Forensic Toxicology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009584:Nitrogen; D010758:Phosphorus; D013053:Spectrophotometry
D003486:Cyanides; D010758:Phosphorus; D009584:Nitrogen