ACUTE INHALATION PHARMACOKINETICS OF BIS[2-(DIMETHYLAMINO)ETHYL] ETHER VAPOR BY HEAD-ONLY EXPOSURE OF THE FISCHER 344 RAT

• Published in: Toxic substance mechanisms 1997-10, Vol.16 (4), p.371-383
• Main Author: Charles B. Jensen, Heather D. Burleigh-Flayer and Bryan Ballantyne
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1076-9188; 1091-7659
• DOI: 10.1080/107691897229540

Bis\[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl] ether (DMAEE; CAS no. 3033-62-3) is an industrial chemical with a potential for vapor exposure. The absorption, tissue distribution, and elimination of 14C-DMAEE were investigated in groups of 4 male Fischer 344 rats during, and for 48 h following, a 4-h head-only exposure to DMAEE vapor. Absorption was studied in one experiment (5.2 ppm) and elimination and tissue distribution in two further experiments (5.5 and 5.6 ppm). Minimal peripheral sensory irritation was observed during exposure, with respiratory rate decreases at the end of exposure period ranging from 13 to 30%. During the absorption phase, plasma 14C-derived radioactivity increased linearly with time during exposure, and did not reach steady-state conditions. Data from the postexposure period showed a log plot of plasma radioactivity versus time was linear and consistent with a first-order elimination. The pharmacokinetic parameters, derived using a one-compartmental model, gave a plasma half-life of 17.39-24.15 h. The major route of elimination of radioactivity was in urine (52.87-57.58% of the recovered dose). Less than 1% of the radioactivity was in tissues and organs, with no evidence for preferential accumulation. Thus, DMAEE vapor was readily absorbed at a constant rate, slowly eliminated mainly by urinary excretion, and without preferential specific organ/tissue accumulation.