Determination of ethyl glucuronide in urine using reversed-phase HPLC and pulsed electrochemical detection (Part II)

A direct, versatile method for the determination of ethyl glucuronide (EtG), a biomarker of ethanol consumption, in urine has been developed using reversed-phase liquid chromatography with pulsed electrochemical detection (PED). EtG and methyl glucuronide (MetG), which serves as an internal standard, are readily separated using a mobile phase consisting of 1% acetic acid/acetonitrile (98/2, v/v). Post-column addition of NaOH allows for the detection of all glucuronides using PED at a gold working electrode. Upon optimization, EtG was found to have a limit of detection of 0.03 μg/mL (7 pmol; 50 μL injection volume) and repeatability at the limit of quantitation of 1.7%R.S.D. (relative standard deviation). Solid-phase extraction (SPE) using an aminopropyl phase was used to remove interferents in urine samples prior to their analysis. Compound recovery following SPE was approximately 50 ± 2%. The forensic utility of this method was further validated by the analysis of 29 post-mortem urine specimens, whose results agreed strongly with certified determinations.