Pinho Marques E.G., Oliveira M.M.F., Monsanto P.V., Proenca P., Castanheira F., Castanheira A.M., Avila M.T.

Servicos de Toxicologia Forense Instituto de Medicina Legal de Coimbra, Largo da Sé Nova, 3000 Coimbra, Portugal

Lindane (g-hexachlorocyclohexane) is a organochlorine insecticide. Acute intoxications by this pesticide are not frequent in Portugal.
This paper describes analytical methods for lindane determination in biological samples by gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC/ECD) and mass spectrometry detection (GC/MSD). A liquid-liquid extraction was performed. The purification was performed using different solvents and by chromatography column. The limit of detection was approximately 0.001 µg/mL or 0.01 µg/g by GC/ECD and 0.01 µg/mL or 0.1 µg/g by GC/MSD. The recoveries ranged from 70.1 to 89.2%, and the coefficients of variation were generally below 5% by GC/ECD and 10% by GC/MSD. This method was used in toxicological analyses performed in the fatal poisoning of a woman. Lindane concentrations were 16.4 µg/g, 1.61 µg/mL, 1.90 µg/g and 1.92 µg/g for stomach, blood, liver and kidney, respectively.
In cases of acute poisoning it is not necessary to use the GC/ECD technique, that required cleanest extracts in spite of this method has shown more precision.