Kinetics of aluminum in rats I: Dose-dependent elimination from blood after intravenous administration.

Aluminum (Al) kinetics after intravenous bolus administration were studied in the rat. The animals received either 0.1 or 1.0 mg/kg (n = 6 at each dose) of elemental Al as the sulfate salt. The Al content of serial blood samples was determined by flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Blood and plasma Al-time profiles after both doses were monoexponential in most cases. Increasing the administered dose increased the elimination half-life (mean +/- SD) from 1.20 +/- 0.25 to 2.41 +/- 0.26 h. A corresponding decrease in systemic clearance was observed (49.6 +/- 11.0 to 18.4 +/- 4.6 mL/kg.h). Both changes were significant (p less than 0.05). Significant differences were also observed in the volume of distribution, the values of which were 78.3 +/- 17.2 and 58.9 +/- 8.5 mL/kg at the low and high doses, respectively. At both doses, blood:plasma ratios ranged from 0.8 to 1.0, indicating considerable uptake/binding of the element by blood cells.