eddy@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Sean Eddy) (07/30/87)
Acrylamide is used in biology labs as a gel for separating
molecules by their size and charge. The liquid or solid powder
form of acrylamide is a neurotoxin; supposedly the polymerized
form is fairly inert.
My question is this: does anyone know the mechanism of acrylamide
toxicity? Most of my information is hearsay and likely to be
inaccurate. For instance, is it true that acrylamide poisoning
is irreversible? What nerves, if not all, does it affect? etc.,
etc.
Thanks,
- Sean Eddy
- MCD Biology; U. of Colorado at Boulder; Boulder CO 80309
- eddy@boulder.colorado.EDU !{hao,nbires}!boulder!eddy
-
- "On second thought, let's not go to Camelot. 'Tis a silly place."larry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman) (07/31/87)
In article <1705@sigi.Colorado.EDU>, eddy@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Sean Eddy) writes: > Acrylamide is used in biology labs as a gel for separating > molecules by their size and charge. The liquid or solid powder > form of acrylamide is a neurotoxin; supposedly the polymerized > form is fairly inert. We have some acrylamide gels in our lab from Polysciences which we use for electrophoresis. It is available both as a monomer with a reagent kit for polymerization as needed, and as already polymerized. The acrylamide monomer is highly toxic, and can be absorbed directly through the skin. The polymer is essentially non-toxic. > My question is this: does anyone know the mechanism of acrylamide > toxicity? Most of my information is hearsay and likely to be > inaccurate. For instance, is it true that acrylamide poisoning > is irreversible? What nerves, if not all, does it affect? etc., I, too have questioned the toxicty of acrylamide, since we were developing a test kit which used the material as an electrophoresis gel. I have not gone to the trouble of an extensive literature search, but from what I can gather acrylamide is toxic to the CNS. Toxicity may be physically limited to the brain itself. The toxic effects appear to reverse themselves when exposure is terminated; although recovery is prolonged with greater exposure. The effects of exposure are muscular weekness, lack of coordination, tremors and hallucinations. Some researchers believe that the acrylamide is actually metabolized to another substance which actually causes the toxicity upon the CNS. Acrylamide is one of those unusual toxic substances which exhibit an anamnestic response; i.e., following recovery from an initial exposure, a lesser dose is then required to exhibit the same degree of CNS toxicity. <> Larry Lippman @ Recognition Research Corp., Clarence, New York <> UUCP: {allegra|ames|boulder|decvax|rocksanne|watmath}!sunybcs!kitty!larry <> VOICE: 716/688-1231 {hplabs|ihnp4|mtune|seismo|utzoo}!/ <> FAX: 716/741-9635 {G1,G2,G3 modes} "Have you hugged your cat today?"