Ethanol in Brain, as Assayed by Microfluorometry

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Abstract
Gas—liquid chromatography (GLC), the technique most often used to measure ethanol in body fluids, is not practical for determining ethanol in tissues. Previously described fluorometric assays were modified for the enzymatic measurement of ethanol in brain and, for comparison, in blood of rats 1 h after intraperitoneal injection of 2.0 g of ethanol per kg of body weight. Mean ethanol content of brain was 23.43 mmol/kg and of blood, 24.18 mmol/ liter. Accuracy of the method was verified by GLC of the blood samples, which gave a mean ethanol content of 24.29 mmol/liter. No endogenous ethanol was measurable fluorometrically or by GLC in blood or brain samples from control animals injected with physiological saline solution (9 g/liter). Because samples of only 1 µl are required, the procedure is particularly useful when ethanol is to be measured in minute brain samples or when only very small volumes of blood are available.

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