title: Simultaneous determination of methanol, acetaldehyde, acetone, and ethanol in human blood by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Methanol, acetaldehyde, acetone, and ethanol, which are commonly used as biomarkers of several diseases, in acute intoxications, and forensic settings, can be detected and quantified in biological fluids. Gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectrometry techniques are complex, require highly trained personnel and expensive materials. Gas chromatographic determinations of ethanol, methanol, and acetone have been reported in one study with suboptimal accuracy. Our objective was to improve the assessment of these compounds in human blood using GC with flame ionization detection.
  
  
  METHODS
  An amount of 50 µl of blood was diluted with 300 µl of sterile water, 40 µl of 10% sodium tungstate, and 20 µl of 1% sulphuric acid. After centrifugation, 1 µl of the supernatant was injected into the gas chromatograph. We used a dimethylpolysiloxane capillary column of 30 m × 0.25 mm × 0.25 µm.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed linear correlations from 7.5 to 240 mg/l for methanol, acetaldehyde, and acetone and from 75 to 2400 mg/l for ethanol. Precision at concentrations 15, 60, and 120 mg/l for methanol, acetaldehyde, and acetone and 150, 600, and 1200 mg/ml for ethanol were 0.8-6.9%. Ranges of accuracy were 94.7-98.9% for methanol, 91.2-97.4% for acetaldehyde, 96.1-98.7% for acetone, and 105.5-111.6% for ethanol. Limits of detection were 0.80 mg/l for methanol, 0.61 mg/l for acetaldehyde, 0.58 mg/l for acetone, and 0.53 mg/l for ethanol.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This method is suitable for routine clinical and forensic practices.
authors.affiliation: 1Unit of Forensic Toxicology, Hôpital Jean-Verdier (AP-HP), Bondy, France.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schlatter
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chiadmi
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gandon
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chariot
mesh_terms: D000079:Acetaldehyde / Q000097:blood*; D000096:Acetone / Q000097:blood*; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002138:Calibration; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood*; D005410:Flame Ionization; D005554:Forensic Medicine / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D057230:Limit of Detection; D000432:Methanol / Q000097:blood*; D008832:Microchemistry / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D000096:Acetone; D000431:Ethanol; D000079:Acetaldehyde; D000432:Methanol
keywords: Methanol; alcohol; blood concentration; clinical toxicology; forensic medicine; gas chromatography