EFFICACY OF 3,4,3-LIHOPO FOR ENHANCING THE EXCRETION OF PLUTONIUM FROM RAT AFTER SIMULATED WOUND CONTAMINATION AS A TRIBUTYL-N-PHOSPHATE COMPLEX

The siderophone analogue 3,4,3-LIHOPO, referred to hereafter as LIHOPO , has been examined for its ability to remove Pu-238 in a tributyl-n-p hosphate (TBP) complex from rat after intramuscular (i.m.) or subcutan eous (s.c.) contamination. The chelating agent was administered at a d osage of 30 mu mol.kg(-1), 30 min after the contamination, either by i ntravenous (i.v.) or local injection. By day 7 after exposure, local ( i.m.) administration of LIHOPO reduced the amounts of i.m.-injected Pu -238 in, the wound site, skeleton and liver to 75, 20 and 25% respecti vely of those in untreated animals. At the i.m. Pu wound site, local t reatment was superior to i.v. treatment; both ligands were equally eff ective. At the s.c. Pu wound site, local and systemic treatments were equally effective and LIHOPO was superior to DTPA. After translocation , LIHOPO was the most effective treatment for enhancing Pu excretion, whatever the route of contamination and treatment: the administration of LIHOPO and DTPA reduced whole-body Pu retention by a factor 1.8 and 1.4 respectively. All these results are encouraging for the use of LI HOPO in the future but more studies are needed, concerning both the to xicity of the compound and its use in man.