Alcohol in Body Fluids

Abstract

This article describes analytical methods for determining alcohol levels in body fluids of living and dead persons. Widmark microdiffusion and Conway cell microdiffusion methods utilize the reduction of dichromate ion to chromium ion by ethanol. Several commercial kits utilize the enzyme ADH activity to reduce NAD+ to NADH; EMIT, an automated instrument, utilizes the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity, instead of ADH. Gas-liquid chromatography is the most commonly used method for forensic and clinical purposes. For breath alcohol testing, many on-site instruments utilizing infrared spectroscopy technology and/or electrochemical oxidation/fuel cell are available.