Specific Metabolic Differences and Their Influences on Atrazine Pharmacokinetics: An Allometric Scaling Approach
Start Date
April 2026
Location
3rd floor - Library
Abstract
Background: Atrazine is one of the most used active ingredients in agricultural herbicides that is applied worldwide. Due to the abundance of atrazine application in agricultural settings, it is common for atrazine to be detected in ground water and surface water. Thus, humans are exposed to atrazine through multiple pathways; whether through water contamination or occupational exposure. Due to the potential health defects caused by atrazine, we believe that there is a need to investigate the pharmacokinetic properties of atrazine to better understand the mechanisms of its exposure and potential treatment. However, due to the ethical considerations of exposing humans to a dangerous chemical, rats must be used as models to study the in vivo effects of atrazine. It is for this reason that we aim to use allometric scaling to obtain a better understanding of atrazine in the human body. This was done by selecting a dataset of rats exposed to atrazine and using that dataset to create a computer-generated model via Monolix® non-linear mixed effect modeling to calculate parameters such as the Vd. These values were then used to allometrically scale the clearance rate of rats to the expected clearance rate of humans.
Results: Using these methods, we were able to calculate the Vd of atrazine in rats of 1.28L/kg which is comparable to other values stated in literature which range from 0.7-1L/kg. Upon completing the allometric scaling calculations, we found the clearance rate of atrazine in the human body to be 1.37L/min which is comparable to other values stated in literature of 0.28L/min. Although these calculations are useful for further investigation of the mechanisms of atrazine in the human body, more research needs to be conducted about how atrazine is metabolized by the human body.
Specific Metabolic Differences and Their Influences on Atrazine Pharmacokinetics: An Allometric Scaling Approach
3rd floor - Library
Background: Atrazine is one of the most used active ingredients in agricultural herbicides that is applied worldwide. Due to the abundance of atrazine application in agricultural settings, it is common for atrazine to be detected in ground water and surface water. Thus, humans are exposed to atrazine through multiple pathways; whether through water contamination or occupational exposure. Due to the potential health defects caused by atrazine, we believe that there is a need to investigate the pharmacokinetic properties of atrazine to better understand the mechanisms of its exposure and potential treatment. However, due to the ethical considerations of exposing humans to a dangerous chemical, rats must be used as models to study the in vivo effects of atrazine. It is for this reason that we aim to use allometric scaling to obtain a better understanding of atrazine in the human body. This was done by selecting a dataset of rats exposed to atrazine and using that dataset to create a computer-generated model via Monolix® non-linear mixed effect modeling to calculate parameters such as the Vd. These values were then used to allometrically scale the clearance rate of rats to the expected clearance rate of humans.
Results: Using these methods, we were able to calculate the Vd of atrazine in rats of 1.28L/kg which is comparable to other values stated in literature which range from 0.7-1L/kg. Upon completing the allometric scaling calculations, we found the clearance rate of atrazine in the human body to be 1.37L/min which is comparable to other values stated in literature of 0.28L/min. Although these calculations are useful for further investigation of the mechanisms of atrazine in the human body, more research needs to be conducted about how atrazine is metabolized by the human body.
