Hemolysis in a blood sample when using headspace analysis by GC-FID

Hemolysis in a blood sample when using headspace analysis by GC-FID

On December 21, 2011, in Chemistry, Equipment, GC-FID & GC/MS, Phlebotomy, by Justin J. McShane

Hemolysis is a particular problem in the proper quantification of EtOH in a blood sample. First let’s define what it is: What does it look like? Red blood cells without (left and middle) and with (right) hemolysis. If as little as 0.5% of the red blood cells are hemolyzed, the released hemoglobin will cause the […]

How the GC-FID arrives at a quantitative result: Auto-integration versus Manual Integration

How the GC-FID arrives at a quantitative result: Auto-integration versus Manual Integration

On December 1, 2011, in Chemistry, Equipment, GC-FID & GC/MS, In The Courtroom, Laboratory Procedure, Metrology, Standards, by Justin J. McShane

A frequently asked question on the listservs that I belong to basically asks the following question: In GC-FID use to quantify Blood Alcohol Content where EtOH is the target analyte, how does the machine arrive at the reported number? The machine is called a Gas Chromatograph with a Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID). Typically the sample […]