Distribution of adriamycin-oxidized dextran conjugate(ADM-OXD) in tumor-bearing rats.

Tissue distributions of adriamycin-oxidized dextran conjugate (ADM-OXD) in tumor-bearing rats were studied using two kinds of ADM-OXD preparations which were labelled with 14C on glycine bound to dextran chain(14C-GLY) or adriamycin (14C-ADM) moieties. Rats intramuscularly implanted with Walker carcinosarcoma 256 into the hind legs were intravenously injected with ADM-OXD preparations labelled with 14C-GLY or 14C-ADM. On excretions to urine, radioactivities derived from both ADM-OXD preparations reached almost half of their doses within 6 hours. Incorporation of radioactivity from both radioactive preparations was highest in the kidney, followed by the reticuloendothelial tissues such as the liver and spleen. In the respective tissues, radioactive concentrations from 14C-GLY was around 30% less than those from 14C-ADM, the ratios of which were kept almost constant during the experiment period. Accumulation of radioactivity in the tumor from both preparations was 7 to 8 higher than that in the muscle 3 hours after injection. This study provides evidence that most of ADM-OXD will be circulating in blood as conjugate form and incorporated into respective tissues and organs.