Protein binding of glufosinate and factors affecting it revealed by an equilibrium dialysis technique

We investigated the protein binding of glufosinate ammonium (GLF) and several factors affecting this binding using human serum albumin (HSA) and human volunteer serum under various conditions. The mean ratios of the free GLF (RFr-GLF) to 4% HSA were examined in the sera of patients described elsewhere at GLF levels from 1 microg/mL to 500 microg/mL; the range was found to be only from 0.80 to 0.88. Neither the incubation temperature nor buffers containing different chloride ion concentrations had any effect on the RFr-GLF to HSA. Moreover, the addition of heparin, glycoprotein-alpha1-acid (AAG), and sodium azide had no effect on the RFr-GLF. However, pH of the isotonic phosphate buffer and the addition of palmitic or oleic acid were seen to have an effect. In this study, the mean RFr-GLF to healthy human serum was 0.99. This high value was evidenced that GLF was rapidly excreted through the renal route.

Postmortem absorption of dichloromethane: a case study and animal experiments

A case of accidental death after occupational exposure to an atmosphere containing dichloromethane (DCM) is reported. The concentrations of DCM in the blood and tissues of a 40-year-old man who died while observing an industrial washing machine filled with DCM vapour were blood 1660 mg/l, urine 247 mg/l, brain 87 mg/kg, heart muscle 199 mg/kg and lungs 103 mg/kg which are 3-7 times higher than previously reported fatal levels. The body was left undiscovered in the machine filled with DCM vapour for about 20 h. The present study was designed to determine whether all the DCM detected in the tissues and body fluids had been inhaled while alive using rats as the experimental model. The concentrations of DCM in the tissues and body fluids of a rat that died from DCM poisoning and was left for 20 h in a box containing DCM vapour were the same as those in the tissues and body fluids of a rat that had died from an injected overdose of barbiturates and had then been placed in the DCM box in a similar manner. Moreover, the concentrations of DCM in the tissues and body fluids of the carcasses that were exposed to the DCM vapour increased gradually throughout the period of exposure. These findings imply that DCM is able to penetrate the tissues and body fluids of rat carcasses through a route other than inhalation such as through the skin.

Post-implantation development of mouse androgenetic embryos produced by in-vitro fertilization of enucleated oocytes

We report here on the precise ability of mouse androgenetic embryos produced by in-vitro fertilization of enucleated oocytes to develop to day 9.5 of gestation when cultured with M16 and CZB media. Androgenetic embryos cultured with CZB rather than M16 medium developed to the blastocyst stage in a more significant proportion (56.6% versus 45.0%, P < 0.001). However, after cavitation, the rate of cell proliferation of androgenetic embryos cultured with CZB medium was significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Embryo transfer experiments showed that blastocysts cultured with M16 medium were superior to those cultured with CZB medium in their ability to develop to 9.5-day-old fetuses (28.1% versus 11.1%, P < 0.001). These results showed that the present procedure for producing androgenetic mouse embryos is reliable and that M16 medium is superior for culturing the embryos. Fetal sexing by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) also demonstrated that both XX and XY embryos develop to 9.5-day fetuses at theoretical rates (1:2). This is the first finding that mouse XX androgenones survive after implantation.