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Microwave assisted extraction for the determination of ethyl glucuronide in urine by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry
Author(s) -
Freire Iván Álvarez,
Barrera Ana María Bermejo,
Silva Purificación Cid,
Duque María Jesús Tabernero,
Gómez Purificación Fernández,
Eijo Patricia López
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of applied toxicology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.784
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1099-1263
pISSN - 0260-437X
DOI - 10.1002/jat.1338
Subject(s) - chromatography , ethyl glucuronide , urine , analyte , chemistry , gas chromatography–mass spectrometry , mass spectrometry , selected ion monitoring , gas chromatography , extraction (chemistry) , alcohol , alcohol consumption , biochemistry
Alcohol is the most frequently abused ‘addictive substance’ that causes serious social problems throughout the world; thus alcoholism is of particular interest in clinical and forensic medicine. Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) is a marker of recent alcohol consumption that detects alcohol use reliably over a definite time period. The present paper describes a new method for the determination of EtG in urine. It was based both on microwave assisted extraction (MAE) to extract the analyte from urine samples, and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) to identify and quantify the EtG in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The method was applied to 33 urine samples from alcohol users, obtaining positive results in all cases. It was fully validated including a linear range (0.1–100 µg ml −1 ) and the main precision parameters. In summary, the use of microwave assisted extraction turned out to be a substantially simpler, faster and more sensitive procedure than any other conventional sample preparations. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.