The distribution of plutonium-214 in rodents
Priest, N.D.
International Journal of Radiation Biology and Related Studies in Physics Chemistry and Medicine 31(1): 59-78
1977
ISSN/ISBN: 0020-7616 PMID: 300370 Document Number: 110378
241Pu citrate solution at pH 6.5 was injected i.v. or i.p. into hamsters and rats at a dose of 50 MBq kg-1 (1.35 mCi kg-1). The animals were killed 1 day or 1 wk later, and tissues were removed for autoradiography and radiochemical analysis. 241Pu was distributed in rats in the same way as 239Pu, and is a suitable isotope for high-resolution tissue-section autoradiography. Pu deposits in cells consisted of a nuclear and a cytoplasmic component. In the hamster kidney cells, the amount associated with the nucleus was about 55% of the total cellular Pu at 24 h after injection. Six days later, it was only about 30%. Pu deposits were also characterized in hepatocytes, in the interstitial cells of the testes, in the cells of ovarian follicles, in chondrocytes and in bone cells, including osteoblasts and osteocytes. In bone there appeared to be both an extracellular and intracellular deposit. No evidence was found of substantial incorporation of Pu into the mineral phase of bone.