Ramachandran P K, Gandhe B R, Venkateswaran K S, Kaushik M P, Vijayaraghavan R, Agarwal G S, Gopalan N, Suryanarayana M V, Shinde S K, Sriramachari S
Defence Research and Development Establishment, Gwalior, India.
J Chromatogr. 1988 Apr 29;426(2):239-47. doi: 10.1016/s0378-4347(00)81952-0.
Carbamylation of the N-terminal valine of haemoglobin with methyl isocyanate in rats and rabbits has been demonstrated in vitro and in vivo by gas chromatography. N-Methylcarbamylated haemoglobin, converted by cyclization into 3-methyl-5-isopropylhydantoin, has been quantified by gas chromatography. Standard hydantoin was synthesized, chemically characterized and used for calibration. The method is simple and reliable in the concentration range 0.06-2 nmol. Carbamylation of haemoglobin by methyl isocyanate in vivo in rats can be identified only above a dose of 1.05 mg/l in inhalation exposures. It is inferred that methyl isocyanate in the "active" form crosses the alveolar and erythrocyte membranes and carbamylates the haemoglobin.
