Determination of cyanide in blood by reaction head-space gas chromatography.

A method describing determination of cyanide in blood by head-space gas chromatography with electron capture detector was reported. The method involves transformation of cyanide into cyanogen chloride by reacting hydrogen cyanide with chloramine-T on a stick of filter paper in the space above the blood in the head-space vial. The recovery was 84-96% and the coefficient of variation was 3.

The postmortem distribution of ketone bodies between blood, vitreous humor, spinal fluid, and urine.

The distribution of the ketone bodies: acetone, acetoacetate, and D-beta-hydroxybutyrate, between blood, vitreous humor, spinal fluid, and urine was examined in 105 medico-legal autopsies. The ketone body concentration in the body fluids was determinated by head-space gas chromatography. The correlation between blood and the body fluids could be described with regression lines on the logarithmic-transformed results.

A prospective toxicology analysis in alcoholics.

A prospective and comprehensive investigation was done on 73 medico-legal autopsies in alcoholics. The results of the toxicology analyses are described. Alcohol intoxication was the cause of death in 8%, combined alcohol/drug intoxication in 15% and drugs alone in 19%.

Alcoholic ketoacidosis as a cause of death in forensic cases.

Forensic pathologists are familiar with alcohol abusers, who are found dead and in whom the cause of death cannot be ascertained. In order to examine the possible role of ketoacidosis for the cause of death in this group of alcohol abusers, the concentrations of ketone bodies (acetone, acetoacetate, D-beta-hydroxybutyrate) were determined in post mortem blood specimens. Determination of the ketone body concentrations were made by a coupled enzymatic head-space gas chromatographic method.

Congener production in blood samples during preparation and storage.

The possibility of congener production in blood during storage was studied. The material consisted of 216 blood specimens in which ethanol was not detected. We divided the specimens into two groups, A and B.

Determination of ketone bodies in postmortem blood by head-space gas chromatography.

A method describing determination of the physiological ketone bodies: acetone, acetoacetate, and D-beta-hydroxybutyrate in postmortem blood by head-space gas chromatography. The method involves enzymic dehydrogenation of D-beta-hydroxybutyrate into acetoacetate and quantitative conversion of acetoacetate into acetone. The recoveries of acetone, acetoacetate and D-beta-hydroxybutyrate were 94-100%, 88-104% and 83-91%, respectively.

The postmortem blood alcohol concentration and the water content.

Determination of blood alcohol concentration and water content were performed on blood specimens from 71 bodies. Two blood specimens were sampled from each body. First-specimens (short-time-specimens) were sampled from 0 to 9.

Postmortem blood alcohol concentration.

The relation between the blood alcohol concentration and the vitreous humor alcohol concentration, blood propanol-1 concentration, and the signs of putrefaction of the body was described by a multiple regression equation. The calculations showed that the blood alcohol concentration increased 0.79/1000 when the vitreous humor alcohol concentration increased 1.

Histologic changes and silicone concentrations in human breast tissue surrounding silicone breast prostheses.

Using a previously developed method for quantitative measurements of silicone concentrations in breast tissue, material from 86 biopsies from 67 breasts in 55 patients who had silicone implants was examined. In the 49 breast with unruptured prostheses, there was a positive relation between the concentrations and inflammatory reactions, the only exception being the amount of plasma cells, which showed a negative relation. It is concluded that silicone prostheses provoke an inflammatory response not only because they act as foreign bodies, but also because of silicone seepage through intact membranes.

Determination of organosilicon oxide polymers in tissue by atomic absorption spectroscopy using HGA graphite furnace.

A simple method of extraction and determination of organosilicon oxide polymers (silicones) in 0.1-0.5 g of formalin fixed tissue by atomic absorption spectroscopy is described.

Cannabinoid content of cannabis grown on the Danish island of Bornholm.

The analysis in 1983 of representative samples taken from fruiting tops of seized cannabis plants illicitly grown in 19 localities on the Danish island of Bornholm showed that the average (mean) content of the total tetrahydrocannabinol (delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) + delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) was approximately 1.55 per cent, ranging from 0.1 to 4.

Morphine: its quantitative determination in nanogram amounts in small samples of whole blood by electron-capture gas chromatography.

A method for the determination of nanogram quantities of morphine in hemolyzed whole blood taken post mortem, or other blood samples of poor quality, has been developed. Morphine was extracted into ethyl acetate from blood at pH 8.7-9.