Simple SPE-GC method for anethole determination in human serum.

Area of Science:

• Forensic Toxicology
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Congener analysis aids in verifying post-offense drinking claims in forensic toxicology.
• Specific congeners, like anethole in aniseed drinks, are key indicators.
• Defendant's consumption data is compared against analytical blood sample results.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a gas chromatography (GC) procedure for anethole analysis in human plasma.
• To utilize solid-phase extraction (SPE) as an effective sample preparation method.
• To propose a reliable method for estimating anethole in biological fluids.

Main Methods:

• The method involves protein precipitation to release analytes.
• Solid-phase extraction (SPE) is employed for isolating anethole.
• Gas chromatography (GC) is used for the quantitative analysis of anethole.

Main Results:

• The described GC-SPE procedure provides accurate anethole quantification in human plasma.
• The method demonstrates a low limit of detection (LOD) at 8.33 ng/g.
• A high average recovery rate of 98.37% for anethole was achieved.

Conclusions:

• The developed GC-SPE method is suitable for estimating anethole concentrations in human plasma.
• This technique is valuable for forensic toxicology and assessing consumption of anethole-containing products.
• The method offers high sensitivity and recovery, making it a method of choice.