Simultaneous determination of methanol, ethanol and isopropanol in human blood and white spirit samples

Abstract

A simple and cost-effective method for simultaneous determination of methanol, ethanol, and isopropanol in human blood and white spirit samples using headspace gas chromatography coupled with flame ionization detection (HS-GC-FID) was developed and validated for clinical and toxicological purposes. In this study, the headspace sampling procedure was investigated, indicating optimized temperature of 70 °C in 20 min. Concentrations of target compounds were determined by internal standard (IS) method with acetonitrile as IS compound. A good resolution of chromatographic peaks was achieved. The linear ranges for all the compounds were from 1 to 500 mg/dL. Our method was validated with adequate accuracy (recovery > 98%) and precision (RSD < 0.1%) in whole human blood and white spirit samples. The limits of detection were below 0.5 mg/L for the three compounds. This method is easy to perform, making it suitable for routine analysis in clinical biochemistry and forensic laboratories.