Initial studies on the disposition of quinolinium dibromide (NSC-176319) in mice and rats

The disposition of quinolinium dibromide (QdB), a highly active agent against murine L1210 leukemia was studied using 14C-labeled drug. Excretion of radioactivity was slow, with only 10 and 16% of the dose eliminated in the urine and 19 and 24% in the feces, 96h after intraperitoneal administration of QdB to mice and rats, respectively. Plasma levels of 14C were low and decreased with time, whereas tissue concentrations were high and remained elevated. Differences in tissue concentrations observed in the rat 96 h following intravenous and intraperitoneal dosing could be explained by QdB binding. A strong association between QdB and DNA was indicated by the effect of DNA on the absorption spectrum and Sephadex G-200 elution profile of QdB.