Gas-liquid chromatographic determination of ethanol and acetaldehyde in tissues

A gas-liquid chromatographic procedure, involving head-space analysis, is described for the determination of ethanol and acetaldehyde in the blood, liver, heart, and brain of the rat. The lower limit of sensitivity of the assay is 0.05 mg/ml (mg/g) ethanol and 0.25 micrograms/ml (micrograms/g) acetaldehyde. The coefficient of variation of the method is less than 6% for ethanol and less than 9% for acetaldehyde. This procedure has been used in the investigation of the calcium carbimide-ethanol interaction.