Validation of a Headspace Gas Chromatography with Flame Ionization Detection Method to Quantify Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) for Forensic Practice

Abstract

Alcohol consumption is a major social and forensic issue. It is often the cause of road accidents, industrial accidents, suicides and other crimes. On account of this, it is of fundamental importance in forensic toxicology to correctly quantify blood alcohol concentration (BAC). In this work, a straightforward method for the quantification of ethanol from blood samples by means of headspace gas chromatography with flame ionization detection is presented and validated. For method validation linearity, limit of detection (LOD), lower limit of quantification (LLOQ), accuracy, precision (% CV) and interference studies were carried out. All the validation conditions were satisfied according to the acceptance criteria. Proof of applicability was performed on 50 real blood samples, showing that the method was effective.

Keywords

• blood alcohol concentration
• method validation
• headspace gas chromatography
• flame ionization detection
• calibration model
• forensic toxicology