Determinations of free and bound ethanol, acetaldehyde, and acetate in human blood and urine by headspace gas chromatography.

The improved PCA method leads to accurate measurement of ethanol, acetaldehyde, and acetate in blood and urine by headspace gas chromatography. It is important to prevent the formation of artifactual acetaldehyde from coexistent ethanol. The column used for detection of alcohol metabolites was the fused silica glass capillary column bonded with PEG-20M or the fused silica glass capillary column of Pora PLOT Q. In bound alcohol metabolites, recent measurements of hemoglobin-associated acetaldehyde in blood, and ethanol conjugate and acetaldehyde conjugate in urine are reviewed and described as a marker of alcohol abuse.