A fatal forensic intoxication with fenarimol: analysis by HPLC/DAD/MSD

Fenarimol (Rubigan) is a pyrimidine ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitor used as a systemic fungicide. The authors present a fatal fenarimol intoxication case analysed in the Forensic Toxicology Service of the National Institute of Legal Medicine. The results were used to compare two different HPLC techniques, regarding selectivity and sensitivity: an HPLC system with a diode array detector (DAD) and an HPLC system with a DAD and a mass spectrometry detector (MSD) with an electrospray interface. All biological samples were submitted to a solid-phase extraction procedure. The detection and quantification limits of fenarimol, linearity, precision and accuracy were evaluated. The fenarimol concentration levels determined were of 89.0 mg/ml in gastric contents, 1.9 mg/g in liver and 0.4 mg/g in kidney. Blood was not available at autopsy. No published data related to fenarimol self-poisoning were found, so it was not possible to interpret the results obtained by comparison with toxic/lethal levels.