Cyanide Determination in Postmortem Blood Samples Using Headspace-Ion Mobility Spectrometry (HS-IMS)

Interest in facile and sensitive methods for cyanide detection is related to the extreme cyanide toxicity and its importance in forensic toxicology. In this research a novel application of Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS) was demonstrated for rapid determination of cyanide poisoning in postmortem toxicology. In addition, a simple method for the sample preparation was applied based on the analyte (cyanide anion) transfer as HCN to the headspace and direct injection to IMS. The method showed a linear dynamic range of 50-2000 μg L^-1 with R2 > 0.99, a high sensitivity (LOD of 20.4 μg L^-1 and LOQ of 68.1 μg L^-1). Good repeatability (intra- and interassays CV<15%) and excellent extraction recovery (82%-94%) were obtained. After validation, the method was applied in the analysis of postmortem human blood samples in forensic cases. In all samples, the cyanide was promptly quantified.