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Anesth Analg 2005;101:748-752
© 2005 International Anesthesia Research Society
doi: 10.1213/01.ANE.0000160530.77996.F2

TECHNOLOGY, COMPUTING, AND SIMULATION

Barium Hydroxide Lime Turns Yellow After Desiccation

Christofer D. Barth, MD*, Marshall B. Dunning, III, PhD{dagger}, Lynn Bretscher, PhD{ddagger}, and Harvey J. Woehlck, MD§

*Department of Anesthesiology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio; and {dagger}Division of Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine and Departments of {ddagger}Biochemistry and §Anesthesiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Marshall B. Dunning III, PhD, Division of Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, 9200 W. Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53226. Address e-mail to mdunning{at}mcw.edu.

Ethyl violet is added to carbon dioxide absorbents and normally serves as an indicator of absorbent exhaustion. During the course of several prior studies of anesthetic breakdown, we noted (but did not publish) that barium hydroxide lime (BL), but not soda lime, turns yellow upon desiccation. We hypothesize that ethyl violet undergoes chemical reaction to produce a yellow colorant in desiccated BL. We qualitatively studied the time course of yellow color development during desiccation of these absorbents with dry oxygen. The yellow colorant was extracted from desiccated absorbent with diethyl ether, separated with chromatography, and analyzed with proton nuclear magnetic resonance and combined gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The yellow color develops after BL has reached nearly complete desiccation. We successfully identified that ethyl violet decomposes into the yellow colorant 4,4'-bis(diethylamino)benzophenone upon desiccation of BL. The color is not intense, is not useful for identifying low levels of absorbent desiccation, and may be difficult to see through tinted canisters. It may be possible for BL to be sufficiently desiccated to allow chemical breakdown of anesthetics, but not yet show yellow coloration. However, if yellow coloration exists, one should assume that it has become desiccated.




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International variances in carbon dioxide absorbent colour indicators
Can J Anesth, March 1, 2007; 54(3): 243 - 243.
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Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins Anesthesia & Analgesia® is published for the International Anesthesia Research Society® by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins with the assistance of Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press®. Copyright 2006 by the International Anesthesia Research Society. Online ISSN: 1526-7598   Print ISSN: 0003-2999 HighWire Press
Copyright © 2005 by the International Anesthesia Research Society.