Dual-Column Analysis of Blood AlcoholContent (BAC) Using Nitrogen Carrier Gas with Brevis GC-2050

User Benefits

- Dual-column gas chromatography, where 2 columns with different separation characteristics are connected, improves qualitative performance. - The Brevis GC-2050 can use nitrogen, an inexpensive, alternative carrier gas, to analyze blood VOCs while maintaining good separation. - The Brevis GC-2050 is compact, so it occupies less space in the laboratory.

Introduction

Analysis of blood alcohol content (BAC) and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is essential for law enforcement agencies to determine alcohol intoxication and its role in traffic accidents, assaults, and injuries, as well as to identify the causes of certain criminal behaviors, poisonings, and so on. Typically, this analysis is performed by a gas chromatograph (GC) that is combined with a headspace sampler (HS) and a flame ionization detector (FID). Since accurate results are essential with BAC analysis, 2 columns can be used with different separation characteristics so that cross-checking can be performed. By using an integrated HS-GC system equipped with 2 FIDs connecting to a dual-column configuration, crosschecking can be performed in a single analysis. In this system, the columns are directly connected to the transfer line using a 2-hole ferrule, which minimizes sample losses due to adsorption. In addition to the high-end Nexis GC-2030, Shimadzu also offers the Brevis GC-2050 as a compact gas chromatography solution, and in this Application News, it is used with an HS-20 NX headspace sampler to perform BAC analysis. Hydrogen was used as the carrier gas in a similar experiment in Application News 01-00570, but in this experiment, nitrogen was used because it is a cheaper alternative carrier gas. Nitrogen generally has an adverse effect on separation, so this experiment also investigated the conditions for separation for 10 types of blood VOCs.

July 8, 2025 GMT