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

This paper describes an analytical method for strychnine determination in b iological samples by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and their applica tion in the investigation of two cases involving. strychnine ingestion: A f atal case and a clinical one. The strychnine is isolated from biological sa mples 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 1 0.5%. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.