Insect blood-brain barrier: a radioisotope study of the kinetics of exchange of a liposoluble molecule (n-butanol).

About 90% of the butanol uptake by the cockroach abdominal nerve cord washed out with half-times of a few seconds, in good agreement with an electrophysiological estimate, and the temperature sensitivity suggested an activation energy of 3 Kcal mole-1. The remaining activity washed out far more slowly, with a similar time course to that observed in a previous investigation which had not detected the fast fraction. Its size was similar to the non-volatile uptake, and was considerably affected by the butanol concentration and incubation period. It apparently consisted of butanol metabolites, which could be detected by chromatography.