Quantitative analysis of acetaldehyde in whole blood from human and various animals by gas chromatography

Acetaldehyde present in the blood of bull, chicken, hamster, horse, human, monkey, pig, rabbit, rat and sheep, was quantitatively analyzed by a newly developed gas chromatographic method. Acetaldehyde in a blood sample was reacted with cysteamine to give 2-methylthiazolidine, which was extracted with dichloromethane and subsequently analyzed by gas chromatography with a fused-silica capillary column and a nitrogen-phosphorus detector. The quantities of acetaldehyde found in blood ranged from 2.04 micromol/ml (hamster) to 14.8 micromol/ml (pig). The quantity of acetaldehyde recovered from human blood was 6.17 micromol/ml.