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[Diagnosis of carbon monoxide poisoning following embalming and exhumation]
Insights
A new method accurately measures carbon monoxide in blood clots using gas chromatography and atomic absorption spectrometry. This technique is effective for analyzing putrid or heat-clotted blood samples.
Area of Science:
- Forensic Toxicology
- Analytical Chemistry
Background:
- Assessing carbon monoxide poisoning often involves analyzing blood samples for carboxyhemoglobin (CO-Hb).
- Traditional methods face challenges with degraded or altered biological samples, such as those found in autopsies.
Observation:
- Blood clots from cardiac ventricles of an embalmed corpse were analyzed for carbon monoxide.
- Existing methods for determining CO-Hb content in these clots proved unreliable.
Findings:
- A novel procedure was developed to release carbon monoxide from blood clots using nitric acid.
- Carbon monoxide was quantified via headspace gas chromatography.
- Iron content was simultaneously measured using atomic absorption spectrometry in the same reaction vessel.
Implications:
- This new method offers a reliable approach for carbon monoxide determination in challenging forensic samples.
- The technique is particularly suitable for putrid or heat-clotted blood, expanding analytical capabilities in forensic science.
- Accurate CO-Hb analysis in degraded samples can aid in determining cause of death in complex cases.
Abstract:
Clots of blood, which were found in the cardiac ventricles at an autopsy of an embalmed corpse, were to analyse for carbon monoxide. It was not possible to determine reliably the CO-Hb-content of the blood clots with the known methods. Therefore a new procedure was developed. Carbon monoxide was released by a solution of nitric acid and determined gas chromatographically by a headspace method. In the same vessel the iron-content of the sample was measured after decomposition with atomic absorption spectrometry. This procedure is especially suitable for samples like putrid or heat-clotted blood.