Improved liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric method for the determination of ethyl glucuronide concentrations in hair: Applications to forensic cases

Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) is a direct marker of ethanol consumption, and its assay in hair is an efficient tool for chronic alcoholism diagnosis. In 2012, the Society of Hair Testing proposed a new consensus for hair concentrations interpretation, strongly advising the use of analytical methods provid...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of legal medicine 2014, Vol.128 (1), p.53-58
Main Authors: Imbert, Laurent, Gaulier, Jean-Michel, Dulaurent, Sylvain, Morichon, Julien, Bevalot, Fabien, Izac, Paul, Lachâtre, Gérard
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alcohol Drinking - legislation & jurisprudence
Alcoholism
Alcoholism - diagnosis
Biomarkers
Chromatography
Chromatography, Liquid - methods
Ethanol
Forensic Medicine
Glucuronates - analysis
Hair - chemistry
Humans
Mass spectrometry
Medical Law
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Predictive Value of Tests
Reference Values
Scientific imaging
Short Communication
Tandem Mass Spectrometry - methods
Temperance
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Summary:Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) is a direct marker of ethanol consumption, and its assay in hair is an efficient tool for chronic alcoholism diagnosis. In 2012, the Society of Hair Testing proposed a new consensus for hair concentrations interpretation, strongly advising the use of analytical methods providing a limit of quantification of less than 3 pg/mg. The present work describes the optimization and validation of a previously developed liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric method in order to comply with this recommendation. The concentration range of this improved method is from 3 to 1,000 pg/mg. Some cases are then described to illustrate the usefulness of hair EtG: a forensic post-mortem case and two cases of suspension of driving licences. Finally, hair samples of some teetotallers ( n  = 10) have been analyzed, which allowed neither to quantitate nor to detect any trace of EtG.
ISSN:0937-9827
1437-1596
DOI:10.1007/s00414-013-0894-8