Distribution and pharmacokinetics of alkylphenolic compounds in primary mouse hepatocyte cultures

Abstract

In order to allow an interpretation of in vitro results on the estrogenic potency of 4-nonylphenol (NP) and 4-octylphenol (OP), their distribution and pharmacokinetics were investigated in primary mouse hepatocyte cultures. 10 −5 M NP and 10 −6M OP were added to the hepatocyte cultures and incubated up to 48 h. The time course of parent NP and OP concentrations was followed with GC-MS both in the medium and in the cell fraction. Both NP and OP concentrations decreased rapidly in the cell cultures, indicating that the alkylphenols underwent a rapid metabolism. The concentrations in the cell fractions were 100 ng NP and 2–6 ng OP/mg cell protein after 2 h, declining to about 20 ng NP and 1–4 ng OP/mg cell protein, respectively, after 48 h.