Distribution of Ethanol: Plasma to Whole Blood Ratios

Abstract

Forensic scientists are occasionally requested to interpret ethanol analyses performed on serum or plasma. These analyses are usually performed by hospital laboratories using the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) method. This method calls for the separation of the fluid portion of the blood from the proteins either by centrifugation or by precipitation of proteins followed by centrifugation to obtain a clear supernatant. An experiment was conducted to compare the ethanol concentrations of whole blood, plasma and supernatant.