Determination of acetaldehyde in rat blood by the use of rat liver aldehyde dehydrogenase.

A method has been developed for the determination of low concentrations of acetaldehyde in rat blood. The method involves extraction of blood in perchloric acid followed by a fluorimetric determination of acetaldehyde in neutralized extracts by the use of a low K(m) aldehyde dehydrogenase isolated from rat liver mitochondria. Acetaldehyde concentrations down to 2 to 3 microM could be detected in blood samples of 0.1 ml containing high concentrations of ethanol (10-40 mM). Due to its simplicity, sensitivity, and the use of a low-cost fluorimeter, this enzymatic method should be a valuable complement to gas chromatographic methods for acetaldehyde determination.