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Qualitative screening for volatile organic compounds in human blood using solid‐phase microextraction and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry
Author(s) -
Gottzein Anne Kathrin,
Musshoff Frank,
Madea Burkhard
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.475
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9888
pISSN - 1076-5174
DOI - 10.1002/jms.1723
Subject(s) - chemistry , solid phase microextraction , chromatography , gas chromatography–mass spectrometry , mass spectrometry , gas chromatography , btex , xylene , chloroform , toluene , benzene , extraction (chemistry) , volatile organic compound , hexane , isoflurane , organic chemistry
A fast and simple screening procedure using solid‐phase microextraction and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (SPME‐GC‐MS) in full‐scan mode for the determination of volatile organic compounds (VOC) is presented. The development of a fast and simple screening technique for the simultaneous determination of various volatiles is of great importance, because of their widespread use, frequent occurrence in forensic toxicological questions and the fact that there is often no hint on involved substances at the crime scene. To simulate a screening procedure, eight VOC with different chemical characteristics were chosen (isoflurane, halothane, hexane, chloroform, benzene, isooctane, toluene and xylene). To achieve maximum sensitivity, variables that influence the SPME process, such as type of fiber, extraction and desorption temperature and time, agitation and additives were optimized by preliminary studies and by means of a central composite design. The limits of detection and recoveries ranged from 2.9 µg/l (xylene) to 37.1 µg/l (isoflurane) and 7.9% (chloroform) to 61.5% (benzene), respectively. This procedure can be used to answer various forensic and toxicological questions. The short time taken for the whole analytical procedure may make its eventual adoption for routine analysis attractive. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.