Citation

Lindholm A, Nielsen MKK, Kristensen M, Rasmussen BS. Forensic Sci. Int. 2023; 354: e111904.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.forsciint.2023.111904

PMID

38064776

Abstract

Since 2020, our lab has received blood samples from traffic cases involving suspicion of driving under the influence of nitrous oxide (N(2)O). While N(2)O analysis by gas chromatography (GC) has been around for decades, quantitative results in blood from drivers have been only scarcely reported. We present a three-year (2020-2022) retrospective study of N(2)O from traffic cases in Eastern Denmark with suspected involvement of N(2)O intake. Whole blood samples from traffic cases were analysed for N(2)O using headspace-GC-MS. Freshly made calibration curves and additions of xenon gas as an internal standard were used for calculation of N(2)O concentrations. Positive samples have been defined as having concentrations greater than 0.1 mL N(2)O/L blood. Over a three-year period, we have tested 62 traffic case blood samples for the presence of N(2)O. Despite the technical challenges associated with the analysis of N(2)O, we have found N(2)O in 52 of the samples. Calculated concentrations were in the range 0.1-48 mL N(2)O/L blood, which are similar to the few cases previously found in the literature.

Language: en

Keywords

Traffic; DUID; GC-MS; N2O; Whole blood analysis