Bioinstrumentations

What is a drink?

"A Drink" is: -12 ounces of beer, or (5% alcohol) -5 ounces of wine, or (12% alcohol) -1.5 ounces of hard liquor or shots of 80 proof liquor (5% alcohol)

Head space Gas chromatography disadvantages?

-Invasive -Requires phlebotomist -Longer wait time -Contamination can cause skewed data -More expensive

Types of Alcohol Tester Technologies or breathalyzer

-Semiconductor Sensor Models -Fuel-Cell Sensor Models -Infrared (IR) Spectroscopy Models -Gas Chromatography Mode

The rate at which a person's BAC rises varies depending on what? (5)

-The number of drinks consumed (The more consumed, the higher the BAC) -How quickly drinks are consumed (Alcohol consumed more quickly raises the BAC higher than when drinks are consumed over a longer period of time) -Your gender (Women generally have less water weight and more body fat per pound than men. Because alcohol doesn't go into fat cells as easily, more alcohol reamins in a women's body.) -Your weight (More weight = more water; water dilutes alcohol and lowers the BAC) -Food in your stomach (Food slows down alcohol absorption. What's the best to eat? Protein! It takes the longest to digest)

What is the BAC level when people lose consciousness?

0.30 or 0.30%.

How does Gas chromatography works?

1-Blood and propanol are mixed in tube. 2-Auto-sampler heats and shakes 3-Gasses rise to head-space 4-Volatile compounds reach equilibrium 5-Helium injected into head-space to remove gas 6-Gas chromatograph (separates molecules by size and charge) through burning vapors to measure ion energy to determine blood alcohol content

What a BAC of 0.10 mean?

A BAC of 0.10 means that 0.10% (one tenth of one percent) of a person's blood, by volume (usually, but in some countries by mass), is alcohol.

BAC Blood test

A blood alcohol test measures the amount of alcohol (ethanol) in your body. Alcohol is quickly absorbed into the blood and can be measured within minutes of having an alcoholic drink. The amount of alcohol in the blood reaches its highest level about an hour after drinking. But food in the stomach may increase the amount of time it takes for the blood alcohol to reach its highest level. About 90% of alcohol is broken down in the liver . The rest of it is passed out of the body in urine and your exhaled breath.A blood alcohol test is often used to find out whether you are legally drunk or intoxicated. If this test is being done for legal reasons, a consent form may be required, but refusing to take the test may have legal consequences.

Breathalyzer

A breathalyzer or breathalyser (a portmanteau of breath and analyzer/analyser) is a device for estimating blood alcohol content (BAC) from a breath sample.

What can happen if you BAC level is higher than 0.08?

Anything higher than this can seriously impair your judgment and other functions. A blood alcohol level of 0.30 or higher is enough to cause a coma or death.

BAC

Blood Alcohol Concentration/ Blood alcohol content (BAC), blood ethanol concentration, or blood alcohol level.

What is blood alcohol concentration

Blood alcohol concentration is the percentage of your blood volume that is alcohol.The more you drink, the more your BAC increases. As BAC increases, alcohol's effects become less pleasant and more dangerous. Volume: 1%=1g/dL or by mass: 1% = cg/g

Body weight and alcohol

Body Weight/Body Type - The less you weigh, the more you will be affected by a given amount of alcohol. For people of the same weight, individuals with a lower percentage of body fat will have lower BAC's than those with a higher percentage of body fat.

BW, SD, Wt,MR,DP,0.806

Body weight, SD= # of standard drinking Wt: Body Weight in Kilograms MR: Metabolic rate - female 0.017, male : 0.015 DP: drinking period in hours where 0.806 is a constant for body water in the blood (mean 80.6%), SD is the number of standard drinks containing 10 grams of ethanol, 1.2 is a factor in order to convert the amount in grams to Swedish standards set by The Swedish National Institute of Public Health, BW is a body water constant (0.58 for men and 0.49 for women), Wt is body weight (kilogram), MR is the metabolism constant (0.017), DP is the drinking period in hours and 10 converts the result to permillage of alcohol

Breathalyzer machines ration of 2100:1, what does it mean?

Breathalyzer machines estimate blood alcohol concentration (BAC) based on the experimental finding that alcohol reaches an average 2100:1 partition ratio between breath and blood in alveolar air [2-5]. This 2100:1 ratio is only an average. Even when all common sources of error (such as mouth alcohol) are controlled, biologic variation in the breath/blood ratio still limits Breathalyzer machines to ±15% in their ability to predict true blood alcohol, and this degree of accuracy can be achieved only 81% of the time. The true BAC level may be off by as much as 50% in extreme cases.

Further applications:

Cancer detection Georgia Institute of Technology (Charlene Bayer) Lung and Breast Cancer 75 Breath Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOC) Gas Chromatography (separation of molecules) and Mass Spectrometry (identify molecules) 78% accuracy 300 breath samples Only $100 per test

EBAC

Estimated Blood Ethanol Concentration EBAC = (10*0.806*SD*1.2/BW*Wt) - (MR*DP)

Fatigue and alcohol

Fatigue - Fatigue causes many of the same symptoms as intoxication. If you are fatigued before drinking, intoxication will intensify the symptoms.

Food and alcohol

Food - Always eat before drinking, especially foods high in protein. Having food in your stomach will help slow down the processing of alcohol.

For low risk effect, how many drink a man or a woman can take ?

For men, no more than 2 drinks per day. For women, no more than 1 drink per day.

Gas chromatography (GC)

Gas chromatography (GC), is a common type of chromatography used in analytical chemistry for separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without decomposition .It separates molecules by size and charge.

Why should women have less alcohol a day than men?

Gender - Women have less of the enzyme dehydrogenase that breaks down alcohol in the stomach. Hormone levels also affect the body's ability to process alcohol women will experience a higher BAC before menstruation on the same amount of alcohol they usually drink. Women tend to have a higher percentage of body fat and a lower percentage of water.

Gas chromatography (GC) and alcohol

Headspace Gas chromatography is a useful and accurate method to analyze ethanol and other volatile substances in blood and other tissues.

What about when you sick and you drink?

Illness - If you are sick there is a good chance you are dehydrated. This will result in a higher blood alcohol concentration. Dehydration can also make your liver less efficient at eliminating alcohol.

WHAT IS INTOXICATION?

Intoxication is the point at which alcohol depresses the central nervous system so that mood, physical and mental abilities are noticeably changed. The legal definition of intoxication is a Blood Alcohol Content of .08.

Intoxication facts

Intoxication occurs long before someone passes out! Each person responds somewhat differently to the effects of alcohol based on mood, the drinking setting, physical health, and tolerance for the chemical.

Medications and alcohol?

Medications - Most medications do have some type of reaction when mixed with alcohol, always consult with your physician before mixing any medication with alcohol.

Fuel cell

Modern fuel-cell technology (which may power our cars and even our houses some day) has been applied to breath-alcohol detectors. Devices like the Alcosensor III and IV use fuel cells. The fuel cell has two platinum electrodes with a porous acid-electrolyte material sandwiched between them. As the exhaled air from the suspect flows past one side of the fuel cell, the platinum oxidizes any alcohol in the air to produce acetic acid, protons and electrons. The electrons flow through a wire from the platinum electrode. The wire is connected to an electrical-current meter and to the platinum electrode on the other side. The protons move through the lower portion of the fuel cell and combine with oxygen and the electrons on the other side to form water. The more alcohol that becomes oxidized, the greater the electrical current. A microprocessor measures the electrical current and calculates the BAC.

What a BAC of 0.40 means?

Onset of coma, possible death due to respiratory arrest.

Semiconductor oxide-based testers

Semiconductor oxide-based testers, such as the BACtrack S70, BACtrack S50 and the new BACtrack keychain breathalyzer are relatively new and very affordable. An ethanol-specific sensor is used to measure the subject's BAC. Semiconductor oxide sensors offer many benefits, including low cost, low power consumption and small size. Semiconductor oxide based testers require calibration service on a more frequent basis (every 300-400 tests or once a year) than fuel cell based testers (every 1,000 tests or once a year). When used for personal, home and low-volume professional testing, semiconductor oxide models have been proven to perform very well and provide accurate readings. -Ethanol molecules in contact with SnO2 changes resistance in sensor -Semiconductor measures difference and calculates estimate of BAC -Known as "Personal Breathalyzers"

Head space Gas chromatography advantages?

Slightly more accurate than air devices

Spectrophotometer technology

Spectrophotometer technology is used in large, table-top breathalyzers often found at police stations. Spectrophotometers work by identifying molecules based on the way they absorb infrared light. The level of ethanol in a sample is singled out and measured, and a subject's alcohol level can then be determined. These units are utilized at police stations and are used mainly as evidential testers because they are extremely accurate and specific. These units are not yet manufactured to be handheld / portable units. These units are also very expensive, usually over $1000.

what is the legal limit for a blood alcohol level?

The legal limit for a blood alcohol level is 0.08.

how does an infrared (IR) spectroscopy works?

This device uses infrared (IR) spectroscopy, which identifies molecules based on the way they absorb IR light. Molecules are constantly vibrating, and these vibrations change when the molecules absorb IR light. The changes in vibration include the bending and stretching of various bonds. Each type of bond within a molecule absorbs IR at different wavelengths. So, to identify ethanol in a sample, you have to look at the wavelengths of the bonds in ethanol (C-O, O-H, C-H, C-C) and measure the absorption of IR light. The absorbed wavelengths help to identify the substance as ethanol, and the amount of IR absorption tells you how much ethanol is there. In the Intoxilyzer: A lamp generates a broadband (multiple-wavelength) IR beam. The broadband IR beam passes through the sample chamber and is focused by a lens onto a spinning filter wheel. The filter wheel contains narrow band filters specific for the wavelengths of the bonds in ethanol. The light passing through each filter is detected by the photocell, where it is converted to an electrical pulse. The electrical pulse is relayed to the microprocessor, which interprets the pulses and calculates the BAC based on the absorption of infrared light.

AlcoMate CA 2000

Used to measure deep lung air for alcohol concentration D.O.T approved alcohol screening device Uses blow time of 5 seconds Semiconductor oxide sensor to test for presence of alcohol Needs to be sent off for calibration annually