Structure-acute toxicity relationship of dinitriles in mice

Acute toxicity and metabolism of seven dinitriles in mice was studied in relation to the chemical structures. The oral LD50 for each nitrile was determined under different conditions for mice pretreated with either carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) or olive oil. All test nitriles were metabolized into cyanide in vivo and in vitro. The cyanide level was variable among the compounds (0.35-0.74 micrograms CN/g brain) at death in the brains of mice, the level for malono- and adiponitrile being comparable to that found in mice killed by dosing with potassium cyanide. After receiving each nitrile, the mean survival time of mice pretreated with CCl4 was prolonged and their brain cyanide level decreased when compared with the corresponding control. With malononitrile, the former did not significantly change and the latter decreased slightly. Brain cyanide levels of control mice at death showed a peak at the lower log P region, while those of CCl4-pretreated animals remained lower independently of log P, with the exception of malononitrile. Microsomal metabolism of nitriles to cyanide was greatly inhibited when microsomes were prepared from livers of mice pretreated with CCl4. The relationship between log (1/LD50-CCl4), LD50 in mice pretreated with CCl4, and log P fits a parabolic plot.