Test for Alcohols

In Schmerber v. California, the U.S. Supreme Court upholds blood alcohol tests for suspected drunken drivers, provided authorities have clear indications that evidence will be found. 

A 33-year-old woman took 210 mg of kava extract for 3 weeks and discontinued the product. After 2 months, she resumed taking the same product for an additional 3-week period. Symptoms of hepatotoxicity developed a day after ingesting 60 mL of alcohol. Tests for viral hepatitis were negative and liver biopsy revealed evidence of hepatic necrosis. Phenotyping of CYP4502D6 activity with debrisoquine was consistant with deficiency of this enzyme. Her liver function returned to normal 8 weeks after kava discontinuation (35). 

Drug/alcohol records must be obtained for any driver who was subject to DOT drug/alcohol testing in the past three years, even if the driver will not be subject to drug/alcohol testing for the prospective employer. 

An Arkansas employer must report to the Office of Driver Services (within 3 business days) all valid positive and refusal to provide specimen resrdts for post-accident ( 382.303) and random ( 382.305) alcohol testing for all Arkansas-issued commercial driver s license (CDL) holders it employs in safety-sensitive transportation jobs for which drug and alcohol testing is required according to the FMCSRs. 

Molisch s test A general test for carbohydrates. The carbohydrate is dissolved in water, alcoholic 1-naphthol added, and concentrated sulphuric acid poured down the side of the tube. A deep violet ring is formed at the junction of the liquids. A modification, the rapid furfural test , is used to distinguish between glucose and fructose. A mixture of the sugar, 1-naphthol, and concentrated hydrochloric acid is boiled. With fructose and saccharides containing fructose a violet colour is produced immediately the solution boils. With glucose the appearance of the colour is slower. 

Like bromine, iodine is soluble in organic solvents, for example chloroform, which can be used to extract it from an aqueous solution. The iodine imparts a characteristic purple colour to the organic layer this is used as a test for iodine (p. 349). NB Brown solutions are formed when iodine dissolves in ether, alcohol, and acetone. In chloroform and benzene a purple solution is formed, whilst a violet solution is produced in carbon disulphide and some hydrocarbons. These colours arise due to charge transfer (p. 60) to and from the iodine and the solvent organic molecules. 

A) (i) Distillate. Test for the alcohol. e.g., methyl, ethyl, benzyl, or cyclohexyl alcohol. 

The reaction with sodium is by no means an infallible practical test for alcohols since, strictly speaking, it is applicable only to pure anhydrous liquids. Traces of water, present as impurities, would give an initial evolution of hydrogen, but reaction would stop after a time if an alcohol is absent furthermore, certain esters and ketones also evolve hydrogen when treated with sodium (compare Section XI,7,6). It may, however, be assumed that if no hydrogen is evolved in the test, the substance is not an alcohol. 

Place 35 ml. of a M solution of aluminium tsopropoxide or 7 g. of solid aluminium tsopropoxide, 450 ml. of dry isopropyl alcohol and 21 g. of purified benzaldehyde (Section IV,115) in a 1 litre round-bottomed flask. Fit a short reflux condenser (no water in the cooling jacket) or better a Hahn condenser (2) (containing a 1 cm. layer of ethyl alcohol in the iimer tube) to the flask and arrange for slow distillation from a water bath at the rate of 3-6 drops per minute. Continue the heating until a negative test for acetone is obtained after 5 minutes of total reflux (6-9 hours) if the volume of the mixture falls below 200 ml. during the reduction, add more isopropyl alcohol. Remove the reflux or Hahn condenser and distil off (Fig. II, 13, 3) most of the isopropyl alcohol under atmospheric pressure from a suitable oil bath. Hydrolyse the... 

Recovery of the wopropyl alcohol. It is not usually economical to recover the isopropyl alcohol because of its lo v cost. However, if the alcohol is to be recovered, great care must be exercised particularly if it has been allowed to stand for several days peroxides are readily formed in the impure acetone - isopropyl alcohol mixtures. Test first for peroxides by adding 0-6 ml. of the isopropyl alcohol to 1 ml. of 10 per cent, potassium iodide solution acidified with 0-6 ml. of dilute (1 5) hydrochloric acid and mixed with a few drops of starch solution if a blue (or blue-black) coloration appears in one minute, the test is positive. One convenient method of removing the peroxides is to reflux each one litre of recovered isopropyl alcohol with 10-15 g. of solid stannous chloride for half an hour. Test for peroxides with a portion of the cooled solution if iodine is liberated, add further 5 g. portions of stannous chloride followed by refluxing for half-hour periods until the test is negative. Then add about 200 g. of quicklime, reflux for 4 hours, and distil (Fig. II, 47, 2) discard the first portion of the distillate until the test for acetone is negative (Crotyl Alcohol, Note 1). Peroxides generally redevelop in tliis purified isopropyl alcohol in several days. 

It is convenient to consider the indiflferent or neutral oxygen derivatives of the hydrocarbons—(a) aldehydes and kelones, (b) esters and anhydrides, (c) alcohols and ethers—together. All of these, with the exception of the water-soluble members of low molecular weight, are soluble only in concentrated sulphuric acid, i.e., fall into Solubility Group V. The above classes of compounds must be tested for in the order in which they are listed, otherwise erroneous conclusions may be drawn from the reactions for functional groups about to be described. 

Filters for use in sterile gas filtration must conform to standards similar to those mandated for sterile hquid filtration. Nondestmctive integrity tests may be apphed. The tests are performed by wetting the filter with an appropriate solvent, commonly 60/40 isopropyl alcohol/water for hydrophobic membranes, and applying air or nitrogen gas at a preset pressure. 

Other Substances. Driving under the influence of alcohol cases are compHcated because people sometimes consume alcohol with other substances (11—13). The most common iUicit substances taken with alcohol are marijuana and cocaine (see Table 1) (14). In combination with alcohol, some dmgs have an additive effect. When a blood or urine alcohol sample is tested for alcohol and the result is well below the legal concentration threshold yet the test results are not consistent with the arresting officers observation that the subject was stuporous, further toxicological tests for the possible presence of dmgs are indicated. 

Alkali or alkaline-earth salts of both complexes are soluble in water (except for Ba2[Fe(CN)g]) but are insoluble in alcohol. The salts of hexakiscyanoferrate(4—) are yellow and those of hexakiscyanoferrate(3—) are mby red. A large variety of complexes arise when one or more cations of the alkah or alkaline-earth salts is replaced by a complex cation, a representative metal, or a transition metal. Many salts have commercial appHcations, although the majority of industrial production of iron cyanide complexes is of iron blues such as Pmssian Blue, used as pigments (see Pigments, inorganic). Many transition-metal salts of [Fe(CN)g] have characteristic colors. Addition of [Fe(CN)g] to an unknown metal salt solution has been used as a quaUtative test for those transition metals. 

Poly(vinyl alcohol) has a low oral toxicity rating. The oral LD q is higher than 10,000 mg/kg (rats). Concentrations of up to 10,000 mg/L in water were tested for toxicity to bluegik sunfish. No mortaUty or response indicative of intoxication was observed (283). 

Iodine. Iodine has been important for many years, primarily as an antiseptic (see Iodine and iodine compounds). In the American Civil War physicians used it to treat battie wounds. Elemental iodine is not very soluble in water, but dissolves readily when sodium iodide is added, forming triiodide + I I Iodine may thus be used as an aqueous solution but it has generally been used as a tincture of 2% iodine in 70% alcohol. Tests on... 

Alcohols, particularly ethanol [64-17-5] and 2-propanol [67-63-9] are important disinfectants and antiseptics. In the aUphatic series of straight-chain alcohols, the antimicrobial activity increases with increasing molecular weight up to a maximum, depending on the organism tested. For Staphylococcus aureus the maximum activity occurs using amyl alcohol [71-41-0], for Salmonella typhosa, octyl alcohol [111-87-5], CgH gO (43) ioT Mycobacterium tuberculosis... 

Reaction.—A delicate test for ethyl alcohol is the lodofornt reaction. Pour a few drops of alcohol into a test-tube and add about 5 c.c of a solution of iodine in potassium iodide, and then dilute caustic soda solution until the iodine colour vanishes. Shake up and narm very gently to about 6o°. If no turbidity 01 precipitate appears at once, set the test-tube aside for a time. Yellow crystals of iodoform will ultimately deposit, which have a peculiar odoui, and a characteiistic star shape nhen viewed under the microscope. The same reaction is given with... 

The rate data reported in Table VI can be interpreted with less certainty in terms of solvent effects, since for each alcohol tested the... 

Brown and Mason converted the hydrates into alcoholates by boiling them with alcohol. The hydrate and alcoholate of 6,7-diethyl-2-hydroxypteridine showed two N—H absorption bands in the infrared, and, when either compound was heated at 120° in vacuo, the band of higher frequency was strongly reduced in intensity. These results led to a new test for covalent hydration the substance is refluxed with... 

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