[An infrared spectrophotometric method for determining nitrous oxide and halothane in the air of operating rooms]

Nitrous oxide and halothane are one of the most widely used anesthetics in the surgical practice. A spectrophotometric method in the infrared area is worked out for direct determination in gas phase simultaneously on nitrous oxide at 2236 cm-1 and on halothane at 813 cm-1 by means of 20 m gas cuvette. The sensitivity of the method for nitrous oxide is 20 mg/m3 and for halothane 5 mg/m3. The reproducibility of the method expressed as coefficient of variation is +/- 1-6%. The method is specific in the presence of other anesthesiological means. The air samples are taken in bags of Tedlar and depending on the sampling velocity the method can be used for recording the moment and average shift concentrations of nitrous oxide and halothane.