Technical Summary: Clinical Alcohol Analysis (Bulletin ref. TB10914E)
 

A rapid high performance plasma alcohol analysis using Alcohol Oxidase (AOD).
 

Name:
 

Alcohol
 

Codes:

GMRD-113 Alcohol reagent kit, 50ml (70 analyser cycles)
GMRD-113J Alcohol reagent kit, 8 x 50ml (8 x 70 analyser cycles)
GMRD-113CJ Alcohol reagent kit, 4 x 175ml (4 x 250 analyser cycles)
 

GMRD-110(050) Ethanol standard, 50mg/dl, 4 x 1ml
GMRD-110(100) Ethanol standard, 100mg/dl, 4 x 1ml
GMRD-110(150) Ethanol standard, 150mg/dl, 4 x 1ml
GMRD-110(200) Ethanol standard, 200mg/dl, 4 x 1ml
GMRD-110(300) Ethanol standard, 300mg/dl, 4 x 1ml
 

GMRD-110D Alcohol quality control, 0.5ml
GMRD-110D4 Alcohol quality control, 4 x 0.5ml
 

Instruments:
 

All GM7/AM1/GL5 Series analysers
 

Principle:

In the presence of molecular oxygen, ethanol is oxidised by the enzyme alcohol oxidase to acetaldehyde and hydrogen peroxide:
 

Under the conditions of the assay, oxygen consumption is directly proportional to ethanol concentration:
 

Samples:
Sample volume:
Analysis time:
Linearity:

Plasma, serum, urine, precipitated whole blood (neutralised)
5 µl (variable 2.5 - 25 µl)
20 seconds
200 mg/dl (43 mmol/L) for 5 µl samples
400 mg/dl (86 mmol/L) for 2.5 µl samples
 

Precision:
 

Typical within-run C.V. = 2.5 % @ 85 mg/dl (whole blood)
 

Accuracy:

i) Serum Recovery Data:
y (Analox) = 0.973x + 2.1 mg/dl, r = 0.991, n = 89
ii) Urine Recovery Data:
y (Analox) = 0.981x + 0.9 mg/dl, r = 0.999, n = 17
iii) Whole-blood (neutralised PCA extract) vs GC:
y (Analox) = 1.039x + 1.3 mg/dl, r = 0.991, n = 27
 

Reagent Stability:

Shelf-life 6 months unopened when stored at 0 - 5°C. Reconstituted AOD/buffer reagent, ca 5 days if stored at 0 - 5°C between use.  Fresh aliquots may be frozen for several weeks at -20°C or lower to extend life.
 

Note:

Alcohol oxidase is non-specific towards ethanol. This assay will also detect other low molecular weight alcohols, e.g. methanol.