NOVEL INSTRUMENTATION FOR DETERMINATION OF ETHANOL CONCENTRATIONS HUMAN PERSPIRATION BY GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY AND A GOOD INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ETHANOL CONCENTRATIONS IN SWEAT AND BLOOD

Novel instrumentation for the estimation of ethanol concentration in s weat is proposed, It is composed of a sampling probe attached directly to the skin surface, a sweat rate meter for measuring the total amoun t of sweat secreted, a cold trap and a capillary gas chromatograph. Th e variation of ethanol concentration in sweat after ingestion has been measured precisely at intervals of 5-20 min. At the same time the eth anol concentration in blood was also determined by using a clinically authorized method. Ethanol concentrations both in sweat and blood are well related. To our knowledge, this is the first time that a clear re lationship has been demonstrated during the whole elapsed period after ethanol ingestion. As the proposed method uses non-invasive sampling it may be applicable to testing for ethanol instead of the normal meth od using blood. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.