非正常死亡案件中丙酮含量分析

Quantitative Analysis of Acetone in An Unusual Death

目的利用顶空气相色谱分离分析方法,在无法实施尸体解剖时,通过测定血液或尿液中丙酮的含量为某些非正常死亡案件提供死因判定的依据。方法利用丙酮易挥发性,用顶空气相色谱/氢火焰离子化检测器(HSGC/FID)进行分离检测;通过与平行操作的对照品比较,以保留时间为依据进行定性分析;以峰面积为依据,采用内标法(叔丁醇作为内标物)进行定量测定。结果通过对死者血液和尿液测定,分析丙酮含量异常数据,同时结合前期调查所获取的案件相关信息,为死因判定提供了依据。结论该分析方法基质干扰小,重现性良好,操作简单,普通刑事化验室均可进行,对缺乏病理学数据的非正常死亡案件的死因判定具有重要意义。

ObjectiveTo solve an unusual death case and develop a method for determining concentration of acetone in blood or urine samples from the dead body by headspace gas chromatography （HS-GC）, which is quite helpful under certain circumstance when autopsy can’t be performed because of social customs, religious belief or other reasons.MethodsA 67-year-old man, who had diabetes, was found dead in a hotel room and his family didn’t agree to perform an autopsy. In order to determine the cause of death, the blood and urine samples were sent to laboratory for poison and drugs analysis, but no common poison was found. Based on the excellent volatility, acetone in blood or urine samples was analyzed by a head-space gas chromatography system with hydrogen ifre ionization detector （HS-GC/FID）. Qualitative analysis result was obtained according to retention time, and quantitative analysis was performed by internal standard （tert-butyl alcohol） method. The average peak area derived from three replicate injections of each sample was used for the calculation of acetone concentration in blood or urine.ResultsConcentration of acetone in blood and urine was 6.89 mg/100mL and 57.1 mg/100mL respectively, both were much higher than the normal value.ConclusionsDetermination of acetone in blood or urine by HS-GC/FID provides a useful evidence for determining the manner of death, which is especially effective when short of pathology data. In such casework, thorough information about the dead should be taken into consideration to ensure the scientiifc deduction.