Comparative pharmacokinetics of perfluorononanoic acid in rat and mouse

Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) is a fluorinated organic chemical found at low levels in the environment, but is detectable in humans and wildlife. The present study compared the pharmacokinetic properties of PFNA in two laboratory rodent species. Male and female Sprague–Dawley rats were given a single dose of PFNA by oral gavage at 1, 3, or 10 mg/kg, and blood was collected from the tail vein at 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 16, 21, 28, 35, 42 and 50 days after treatment. In addition, livers and kidneys were collected for PFNA analysis at the terminal time point. CD-1 mice were given a single oral dose of PFNA of 1 or 10 mg/kg, and 4 males and 4 females were killed at similar time intervals; trunk blood, liver and kidney were collected. Serum and tissue concentrations of PFNA were determined by LC–MS/MS. Serum elimination of PFNA is by and large linear with exposure doses in the rat; however, like PFOA, a major sex difference in the rate of elimination is observed, with an estimated half-life of 30.6 days for males and 1.4 days for females. PFNA is stored preferentially in the liver but not in the kidneys. In the mouse, the rates of PFNA serum elimination are non-linear with exposure dose and are slightly faster in females than males, with terminal estimated serum half-life of 25.8–68.4 days and 34.3–68.9 days, respectively. PFNA is also stored preferentially in the mouse liver but not in the kidneys. Hepatic uptake appears to be more efficient and storage capacity greater in male mice than in females. These data suggest that (1) PFNA is more persistent in the mouse than in the rat; (2) there is a major sex difference in the serum elimination of PFNA in the rat, but much less so in the mouse; and (3) there is a significantly higher hepatic accumulation of PFNA in male mice than in females.