Ebao-lu
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Alcohol dehydrogenase and breath-alcohol measurements
Being a dumb in biochemistry and anatomy questions, i had an idea suggested itself to me:
Is it possible to use alcohol dehydrogenase/its solution in inhalator form to reduce the alcohol level in exhaled air?
This could help many drivers all over the world))
The heterogeneous reaction between evaporated alcohol and enzyme solution of course will be slow, but with surface-alcohol(that is further excreted to
air) on the lung tissues with adsorbed enzyme it would be more possible.
Is alcoholdehydrogenase stable in solid/solution form(for storage)? Can it be poisonous/irritating for lung tissues and cause pulmonary edema etc? How
stable it may be in vivo, adsorbed on the lung tissues? What is the mechanism of alcohol excretion to exhaled air from lung surface?
And the main question, is it kinetically possible to metabolise all alcohol before evaporation?
[Edited on 16-12-2008 by Ebao-lu]
[Edited on 16-12-2008 by Ebao-lu]
[Edited on 16-12-2008 by Ebao-lu]
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Duke
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Im almost 100% sure breathelyzers measure acetaldehyde, not the alcohol itself.
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Ebao-lu
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You're quite right.. http://www.azduiatty.com/why-breathalyzers-dont-measure-alco...
They measure all compounds with a methyl group
But in the link above, it is written about breathalyzers that have some "tube"
| Quote: | | The DUI suspect breathes through a tube connected to the machine and a breath sample is captured in a small "sample chamber" inside the machine.
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But here we have another devices - the policemen ask to breathe on a small display.. Does this mean, that they use another principle of work, not
infrared spectroscopy?
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piracetam
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it's essentially a portable GC. acetaldehyde is indeed a volatile compound
[Edited on 18-1-2009 by piracetam]
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Ebao-lu
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Then it seems to measure acetaldehyde and/or alcohol, not Me?
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piracetam
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sorry..
it is actually IR-absorption detection (in the portable field units), and it measures the alcohol from blood that's passed through the aveoli (which
is then exhaled).
[Edited on 19-1-2009 by piracetam]
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Ebao-lu
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Then, acetaldehyde dehydrogenase should be used.
Fuck, fuck.. i just realized, that both enzymes are NAD(P)+ dependent. So synthetic NAD+ should be added to the solution.
[Edited on 19-1-2009 by Ebao-lu]
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Ebao-lu
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| Quote: |
it is actually IR-absorption detection, and it measures the alcohol from blood that's passed through the aveoli (which is then exhaled).
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then it should measure all Me groups (see link above)? Are the display-type analyzers also IR based?
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piracetam
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maybe.. perhaps it measures CH2-OH groups
and I saw your link...perhaps it is because of the nature of IR-spec to detect functional groups rather than specific compounds, the reason for false
positives.
this is why a portable GC device would make more sense (though it may be more costly), they're typically used in forensics field testing. they do
boiling point determinations on compounds, which would give much less margin for error.
[Edited on 19-1-2009 by piracetam]
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Ebao-lu
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I found some mentions about "electrochemical sensors", that are used in the devices.. i wonder, wether they're used in same GC devices (after gas
resolution, as a detector), or independently as another type of device? But this is not as essential - the main question is the possibility of
reducing alcohol/acetaldehide level(s) in exhailed air. I could try it with my own lungs, but i am not confident wether the solution is not irritant.
And of course, the avaliability of these enzymes and synthetic NAD is a big issue
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vulture
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| Quote: |
Is it possible to use alcohol dehydrogenase/its solution in inhalator form to reduce the alcohol level in exhaled air? This could help many drivers
all over the world)) |
WTF? How will this help drivers? It'll allow the 5% that drives when drunk to endanger other drivers, yes. Lowering the alcohol content in exhaled air
is going to change nothing to the extent of intoxication.
If you're trying to reduce blood alcohol levels, the only thing that can do that is the liver by metabolizing it. You can aid it by drinking lots of
water and eating, but other than that...
One shouldn't accept or resort to the mutilation of science to appease the mentally impaired.
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Ebao-lu
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you're right. it will help those 5% drivers, and endanger other 95!)) In the city, of course it will be harmful. I had this idea after a friend of
mine lost his license because of drunk driving, but he was just driving in a country side, where there is practically no cars and people, but alcohol
stores can't be reached by foot-walk due to their remoteness.
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not_important
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Sound like your friend needs to practice a bit of restraint and get to somewhere safe to get blotto before imbibing, and perhaps invest in a puzzle
lock or safe that is difficult to solve when drunk for sequestering away their car keys.
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