| Title: | Diagnosis of aluminum phosphide poisoning using a new analytical approach: forensic application to a lethal intoxication |
| Author(s): | Yan H; Xiang P; Zhang S; Shen B; Shen M; |
| Address: | "Department of Forensic Toxicology, Institute of Forensic Sciences, Ministry of Justice, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai, 200063, China. Department of Forensic Toxicology, Institute of Forensic Sciences, Ministry of Justice, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai, 200063, China. shenbh@ssfjd.cn. Department of Forensic Toxicology, Institute of Forensic Sciences, Ministry of Justice, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai, 200063, China. minshensfjd@hotmail.com" |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s00414-017-1562-1 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1437-1596 (Electronic) 0937-9827 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Aluminum phosphide (AlP) is an effective and cheap pesticide that is commonly used worldwide, but it is also a common cause of human poisoning and carries a high mortality rate. AlP reacts with moisture in air, water, and hydrochloric acid in the stomach to produce phosphine (PH(3)) gas. Two routes of exposure are ingestion of AlP and inhalation of phosphine generated by the action of moisture on AlP. Absorbed phosphine is rapidly metabolized into phosphite and hypophosphite. A method is described for the analysis of the phosphine metabolites in various biological matrices. The method involves reacting the sample with zinc and aqueous H(2)SO(4) in a volatile organic analysis vial. The metabolites were transformed into phosphine gas and then analyzed by headspace gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (HS-GC-MS). This method is capable of detecting quantities of PH(3) as low as 0.2 mug/mL in a sample. After validation, the method was applied to animal experiments and a real case of human AlP intoxication. This approach has the advantage of detecting metabolites of PH(3), in case the PH(3) was converted, and can be considered a useful additional tool for the diagnosis of AlP poisoning in forensic science" |
| Keywords: | Aluminum Compounds/*analysis/*poisoning Animals Forensic Toxicology/methods Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Humans Limit of Detection Pesticides/*analysis/*poisoning Phosphines/*analysis/*poisoning Poisoning/diagnosis Rats Aluminum phosphide Gc-ms Hy; |
| Notes: | "MedlineYan, Hui Xiang, Ping Zhang, Sujing Shen, Baohua Shen, Min eng Germany 2017/03/01 Int J Legal Med. 2017 Jul; 131(4):1001-1007. doi: 10.1007/s00414-017-1562-1. Epub 2017 Feb 27" |
