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ADH Assay

Definition

Alcohol dehydrogenase enzymatic assay. Ethanol plus NAD+ gives acetaldehyde plus NADH; NADH absorbance at 340 nm is proportional to ethanol concentration. Fast hospital and screening method.

Related terms

BAC
Blood Alcohol Concentration. Mass of ethanol per unit volume of whole blood. Indian legal cut-off is 30 mg per 100 mL (0.03...
Fuel-Cell Breath Analyser
Electrochemical sensor: ethanol oxidises at a platinum electrode generating a current proportional to BrAC. Specific for ethanol, used in Drager Alcotest and...
Headspace GC-FID
Gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection on the vapour above a heated sealed vial. Gold-standard quantitative method for ethanol in blood, urine,...
IR Breath Analyser
Infrared absorption at about 3.4 micrometres (C-H stretch) or 9.5 micrometres (C-O stretch). Specific and quantitative; used in Intoxilyzer 8000 and evidential...
Putrefactive Ethanol
Ethanol produced post-mortem by microbial fermentation of glucose, lactate and amino acids. Can give false-positive BAC; vitreous humor is the matrix of...
Wet-Bath Simulator
Calibration accessory holding a 0.10 g per L aqueous ethanol solution at 34 degrees Celsius. The vapour above gives a known reference...
Widmark Formula
A = r × W × C, where A is total alcohol in body (g), W is body weight (kg), C is...

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