Abstract
Eighty rats were exposed to 575 ppm toluene by inhalation for up to 240 min. Animals in one group were sacrificed during exposure at 15, 30, 60, 120, or 240 min. Following a 240-min exposure, groups of rats were sacrificed at 15, 30, 120, or 240 min. Blood was drawn from the vena cava of sacrificed subjects. Brains were extracted and homogenized. Blood and brain tissue were assayed for toluene by gas chromatography. One-compartment pharmacokinetic models were fitted to predict toluene levels in blood and whole brain as a function of time. Estimated asymptotes were 10.5 ppm (μg/g) for venous blood and 18.0 ppm (μg/g) for brain. Blood and brain toluene levels achieved 95% of estimated asymptotes in 53 and 58 min, respectively. Brain and blood toluene levels did not rise at significantly different rates. Though the difference was small, brain toluene level fell significantly more rapidly than toluene level in blood. In cases where other data were available in the literature on rodents or man, the results reported here agreed well with earlier data.
Published Version
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