Gas-chromatographic determination of ethylene glycol in serum

We describe a new gas-chromatographic procedure for ethylene glycol in serum, determined as the cyclic phenylboronate ester. The method is rapid, requires only 100 microL of serum, and either an OV-1 or an OV-17 column is used. The linear dynamic range extends to at least 5000 mg/L, with a lower limit of detection of 10 mg/L. Analytical recovery of ethylene glycol from serum averaged 97% (95-101%) over the concentration range of 250-5000 mg/L. The method demonstrates good precision, with CVs less than 2.5%, over the concentration range 500-2000 mg/L.