Carbon-Mercury Bond Cleavage in Blood of Rats Fed Methyl Mercuric Chloride 1 2 3

Abstract

Summary

Methyl mercuric chloride labeled with ¹⁴C or ²⁰³Hg or both were forcefed to rats in order to quantitatively determine breakage of the carbon–mercury bond in different fractions of blood. Based on the hypothesis that a change in the ratio of ¹⁴C to ²⁰³Hg radioactivities in the tissue from that in the compound fed to rats would indicate breakage, values ranging from 5.1% to 10.6% were observed depending upon the blood fraction studied.

Since the site of deposition of mercurial compounds is important in determining toxicities, the concentrations of either ¹⁴C or ²⁰³Hg radioactivities in blood fractions were determined after force-feeding the single or double-labeled methyl mercuric chloride. One day after force-feeding, the highest concentration in the erythrocytes was in the hemoglobin. In the plasma, fat contained the highest concentration. However, plasma fat radioactivities constitute only 0.1% of the whole blood radioactivities whereas plasma protein radioactivities constitute 0.7%. Nearly 99% of blood radioactivities was in the hemoglobin.