Progress report: plutonium removal. IV. Tissue distribution of monomeric and polymeric plutonium as modified by a chelating agent.

Abstract

Mice injected with a polymeric (colloidal) solution of plutonium retained more of the radioelement in the liver and spleen and less in the bone than did mice injected with a monomeric plutonium solution. After daily diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid therapy was initiated three days later, the bone levels of the radioelement were reduced about one-half in each case. The liver burden of mice injected with the monomeric form of plutonium was nearly completely removed after a few days of treatment, but that of mice injected with the polymeric form was reduced slowly and by only about one-third. In the case of the monomeric form of plutonium all the fecal plutonium was derived from the liver in both control and treated mice, while the urine contained plutonium from the other soft tissues and also from the bone of the treated animals. (auth)