title: An accurate method for microanalysis of carbon monoxide in putrid postmortem blood by head-space gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS/GC/MS).
abstract: Carbon monoxide (CO) may be the cause of more than half the fatal poisonings reported in many countries, with some of these cases under-reported or misdiagnosed by medical professionals. Therefore, an accurate and reliable analytical method to measure blood carboxyhemoglobin level (COHb%), in the 1% to lethal range, is essential for correct diagnosis. Herein a method was established, i.e. head-space gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS/GC/MS) that has numerous advantages over other techniques, such as UV spectrometry, for determination of COHb%. There was a linear relationship (R(2)=0. 9995) between the peak area for CO and the COHb% in blood. Using a molecular sieve-packed column, CO levels in the air down to 0.01% and COHb% levels in small blood samples down to 0.2% could be quantitated rapidly and accurately. Furthermore, this method showed good reproducibility with a relative standard deviation for COHb% of <1%. Therefore, this technique provides an accurate and reliable method for determining CO and COHb% levels and may prove useful for investigation of deaths potentially related to CO exposure.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Evidence Science, China University of Political Science and Law, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100088, China. haohx@126.com
authors.forename: Hongxia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Xiaopei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Zhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhongshan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000097:blood*; D002249:Carbon Monoxide Poisoning / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis; D002263:Carboxyhemoglobin / Q000032:analysis*; D053593:Forensic Toxicology; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D002248:Carbon Monoxide; D002263:Carboxyhemoglobin