Determination of methanol in whole blood by capillary gas chromatography with direct on-column injection

A gas chromatographic procedure was developed for the determination of methanol in small-volume whole blood samples. Samples (100-200 microliters) were prepared by protein precipitation, with direct injection of the supernatant on a wide-bore capillary column. The recovery of methanol and acetonitrile (the internal standard) was approximately 90% and did not vary with sample volume. The assay was linear from 2 micrograms/ml (the limit of detection) through 1000 micrograms/ml and was highly reproducible (intra-day coefficient of variation less than 2.5%). Assay performance was assessed following exposure of rats to methanol. The results indicate that the present procedure is suitable for studies of methanol disposition in small rodent species.