Gas chromatographic method for the microdetermination of barbiturates in blood using a nitrogen-selective flame ionization detector.

A rapid, quantitative gas-liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of as little as 10 ng of unmodified barbital, pentobarbital, secobarbital, and hexobarbital from whole blood is described. The method involves one extraction from whole blood into chloroform with subsequent injection into a gas chromatograph equipped with a nitrogen-sensitive flame ionization detector. This method has the advantages of small sample size high specificity, sensitivity, and rapidity.