Download Determination of alcohol in human biological fluids An alternative

Determination of alcohol in human biological fluids
An alternative alcotest
Panagiota Papaspyridakou, Pinelopi Moutzouri, Christos Kontoyannis and Malvina
Orkoula*
Department of Pharmacy, University of Patras
ICE/HT-FORTH, Patras, Greece
Ethanol is contained in beverages and affects the central neural system (CNS)
with many consequences to health. The determination of ethanol in biological fluids
is considered an important issue in toxicology and forensic sciences. Quantitative
analysis of ethanol is mainly conducted with gas chromatography (GC-MS), which is
accurate but also time consuming, expensive and requires expert personnel. A lowcost and simple way to measure alcohol is by using breathalyzers, applied on-site for
intoxication testing though is often disputed by drivers.
In the current project, the detection and quantitative analysis of ethanol in
human biological fluids (saliva, urine and blood serum) is attempted employing
Raman spectroscopy. It is an easy to handle, fast but reliable technique and does not
require sample preparation. Furthermore, it can be applied on-site using portable
systems.
A special cell was designed for the prevention of evaporation of volatile
ethanol during spectral acquisition. It comprised of a highly reflective glass slide
carrying a cavity in the centre where the sample is placed and covered by a
transparent membrane.
Biological fluids (urine, blood serum and saliva) were collected from healthy
volunteers and mixtures with ethanol were prepared in concentrations ranging from
zero to the lethal alcohol dosage (0-5μl/ml). Accurately performed quantitative
analysis showed that the Limit of Detection was 0,29μl/ml in blood serum, which is
lower than the threshold for intoxication (1,27μl/ml) and close to the limits for
conviviality and dizziness (0,63μl/ml). Finally, biological fluids were collected from
healthy volunteers after beverage consumption and analyzed. The results were in
accordance with the measured alcohol concentration with a breathalyzer.
Key words: Biological fluids, ethanol, alcohol testing, Raman spectroscopy