Mechanisms, blood-partition coefficients

The specific mechanisms by which mirex and chlordecone are transferred from the gut, lungs, or skin to the blood are not known. However, mirex is a highly stable, lipophilic compound that is resistant to metabolism. It has a high lipid water partition coefficient, so it partitions readily into fat and demonstrates a very high potential for accumulation in tissues. The preferential distribution of chlordecone to the liver rather than to the fat tissue is due to its association with plasma proteins. 

Figure 5 Illustration of the lock-in mechanism for estradiol-CDS. Octanol-water log partition (log P) and distribution coefficients (log D) are shown to illustrate the significant changes in partition properties. The lipophilic CDS (5) (log P > 4) can easily cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), but the hydrophilic intermediate (6) (log D < 0) is no longer able to come out providing a sustained release of the active estradiol (7). 

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