QUANTIFICATION OF ETHYLENE GLYCOL IN BIOLOGICAL SAMPLIES USING DIRECT
ANALYSIS IN REAL TIME MASS SPECTROMETRY (DART-MS)
Student Researcher: Stephanie Kimball, Department of Chemistry (Forensic
Science
Program),
Eastern
Kentucky
University,
stephanie_kimball3@mymail.eku.edu
Faculty Mentor(s):
Dr. Darrin Smith, Department of Chemistry, Eastern
Kentucky University, darrin.smith@eku.edu
Dr. Cynthia Gaskill and Dr. Lori Smith, Veterinary
Diagnostic
Laboratory,
University
of
Kentucky,
cynthia.gaskill@uky.edu and lori.smith@uky.edu
Abstract
Ethylene glycol (EG) is a toxic substance commonly found in antifreeze and sometimes
found in animal poisoning cases (either accidental or intentional). While EG is not toxic
itself, metabolites formed after ingestion can be quite harmful. If treated quickly, the
effects of EG poisoning can be reversed, so it is important to have a technique that
allows for its rapid detection. Previous work has been performed where Direct Analysis
in Real Time Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS) was used to determine if it could be an
appropriate screening method for rapid determination of the presence of EG (and its
metabolites) in biological samples without the necessity for sample preparation or
chromatography. It was determined that EG and its metabolite glycolic acid (GA) could
both be detected in synthetic urine using the DART-MS. This research, however, aims
to determine if DART-MS is sensitive enough to be used for quantification of EG found in
unknown samples. A series of dilutions of known concentrations of EG were prepared in
synthetic urine and analyzed with the DART-MS to see if an adequate calibration curve
could be produced and replicated. Multiple trials were conducted and averaged together
to assess the precision and linearity of the calibration curve and evaluate generated R2
value for quantitative use. A real urine sample from an EG poisoning case with an
unknown amount of EG was then analyzed using the calibration curve to test its
applicability.