Determination of Nitrite in Whole Blood by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Electrochemical Detection and a Case of Nitrite Poisoning.
Although nitrite is widely used in meat processing, it is a major toxicity hazard to children and is responsible for the blue-baby syndrome. A simple and effective method to determine nitrite in whole blood has been devised using ion chromatography with suppressed conductivity detection. The blood sample was deproteinized by adding acetonitrile and purified with mini-cartridges to remove hydrophobic compounds, chloride ions, and metal ions. An aliquot of the filtrate was injected onto the ion chromatography. The retention time for nitrite was 13.8 min and the detection limit of nitrite in whole blood was 0.4 μmol/L. The calibration curve was linear (r(2) = 0.9999) over the concentration working range. The blood nitrite concentration of a victim who attempted suicide by ingesting sodium nitrite powder was determined using the present method. The basal levels for nitrite in human blood was determined with 7.1 ± 0.9 μmol/L (n = 12).
Department of Forensic Toxicology, Institute of Forensic Science, Ministry of Justice, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, 1347 Road Guangfu Xi, Shanghai, 200063, China.
Hui
H
Yan
Department of Forensic Toxicology, Institute of Forensic Science, Ministry of Justice, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, 1347 Road Guangfu Xi, Shanghai, 200063, China.
Xiangyi
X
Zhuo
Department of Forensic Toxicology, Institute of Forensic Science, Ministry of Justice, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, 1347 Road Guangfu Xi, Shanghai, 200063, China.
Baohua
B
Shen
Department of Forensic Toxicology, Institute of Forensic Science, Ministry of Justice, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, 1347 Road Guangfu Xi, Shanghai, 200063, China.
Ping
P
Xiang
Department of Forensic Toxicology, Institute of Forensic Science, Ministry of Justice, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, 1347 Road Guangfu Xi, Shanghai, 200063, China.
Min
M
Shen
D000097:Acetonitriles / Q000737:chemistry; D000328:Adult; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057230:Limit of Detection; D009573:Nitrites / Q000097:blood* / Q000506:poisoning; D012977:Sodium Nitrite / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013406:Suicide, Attempted
D000097:Acetonitriles; D009573:Nitrites; D012977:Sodium Nitrite; C032159:acetonitrile
blood; electrochemical detection; forensic science; forensic toxicology; intoxication; ion chromatography; nitrite