Interaction of benzyl alcohol with human erythrocytes.

The uptake of benzyl alcohol by human erythrocytes and its binding to cell membranes were examined in vitro relation to its hemolytic actions. The hemolysis induced by benzyl alcohol was found to be time-, dose- and temperature-dependent. Little or no hemolysis was observed until the concentration of benzyl alcohol increased over a certain level. Radiotracer studies revealed that in contrast to the rapid cellular uptake which was independent of temperature, the binding of benzyl alcohol to membranes increased gradually with time and was dependent mainly on the temperature. The critical hemolytic levels of the alcohol bound to membranes were estimated to be about 500 nmoles/mg protein. The results obtained herein suggest that the process of hemolysis induced by benzyl alcohol depends on the binding of the alcohol to erythrocyte membranes.