Resumen de Analysis of Carbon Monoxide in Blood

Benjamin P. Huddle, Joseph C. Stephens

• Forensic tests used to perform the qualitative and quantitative analyses of carbon monoxide in blood are described. The qualitative test uses the diffusion of CO, which is released from blood by reaction with H2SO4, into a PdCl2 solution in a Conway cell and the resultant formation of a palladium mirror. The quantitative analysis is based on the absorption of visible light by carboxyhemoglobin at 541 nm and reduced hemoglobin at 555 nm. Both procedures are suitable for undergraduate chemistry experiments.