%0 Journal Article
%T Analysis of diglycolic acid after mass poisoning by diethylene glycol
%J Journal of analytical toxicology
%D 2020
%A Goulart, Cristiano O. L.
%A Bordoni, Leonardo S.
%A Nascentes, Clésia C.
%A Costa, Letícia M.
%V ePub
%N ePub
%P ePub-ePub
%X In December 2019, unusual cases of acute renal failure with neurological changes  were observed in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Criminal investigations  indicated cases of intoxication after consumption of beers contaminated with  diethylene glycol (DEG). The elimination of DEG by the body is fast, but its  metabolite, diglycolic acid (DA), may persist for a long time. To assess the level  of intoxicated victims who consumed the contaminated beers, qualitative and  quantitative methods were developed to determine DA in biological matrices by gas  chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and gas chromatography coupled  to a mass spectrometer with triple-quadrupole mass filter (GC-MS/MS), respectively. The validated qualitative method presents good selectivity and limit of detection of  1 µg/mL (whole blood, urine, vitreous humor and cerebrospinal fluid) and 5 µg/g  (liver and kidney). A quantitative method for whole blood presented satisfactory  performance to determine DA. Twelve victims presented positive results for DA in  whole blood, with concentrations ranging from 2 to 108 µg/mL. The toxicology  laboratory of the Institute of Forensic Medicine of Minas Gerais was the first  governmental agency to identify DA in whole blood, vitreous humor, cerebrospinal  fluid, kidney and urine in victims affected by this contaminant. The results of this  study legally supported the prohibition to the continued consumption of the beer and  avoided further intoxications. Our results showed, for real cases of human  intoxication, that it can still be detected in alternative matrices, even when  non-detectable in blood, demonstrating the importance of collecting different kinds  of samples for a proper investigation.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I Preston Publications
%@ 0146-4760
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jat/bkaa187