Analytical method for the determination of strychnine in tissues by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry: two case reports

• Main Author: Marques, E. P.
• Publication Date: 2000
• Other Authors: Gil, F., Proença, P., Monsanto, P., Oliveira, M. F., Castanheira, A., Vieira, D. N.
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: https://hdl.handle.net/10316/4838; https://doi.org/10.1016/S0379-0738(00)00153-5
• topic: Strychnine; Rodenticide; Alkaloid

This paper describes an analytical method for strychnine determination in biological samples by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and their application in the investigation of two cases involving strychnine ingestion: A fatal case and a clinical one. The strychnine is isolated from biological samples using a liquid-liquid extraction procedure. The clean-up procedure is performed using an acid solution. Papaverine is used as internal standard in the quantification of strychnine. In the analysed specimens, the limits of quantification were 0.1 [mu]g/ml or 0.1 [mu]g/g. The recovery rate ranged from 75.0% to 98.7% and the coefficients of variation ranged from 4.8% to 10.5%.