Metabolism, inversion hydroxylation

The in vivo metabolism of a homologous series of alkyl carbamates (7.2, Fig. 7.3) has yielded some informative results [13]. The hydrolysis of these esters liberates carbamic acid (7.3, Fig. 7.3), which breaks down spontaneously to C02 and NH3, allowing the extent of hydrolysis to be determined conveniently and specifically by monitoring C02 production. When such substrates were administered to rats, there was an inverse relationship between side-chain hydroxylation and ester-bond hydrolysis. Thus, for compounds 12 the contribution of hydrolysis to total metabolism (90 - 95% of dose) decreased in the series R=Et (ca. 85-90%), Bu (ca. 60-65%), hexyl (ca. 45 - 50%), and octyl (ca. 30%). Ethyl carbamate (urethane) is of particular toxicological interest, being a well-established carcinogen in experimental animals. In vitro studies of adduct formation have confirmed the competition between oxidative toxification mediated by CYP2E1 and hydrolytic detoxification mediated by carboxylesterases [14]. 

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