Methylazoxymethanol

PRECAUTIONS FOR "CARCINOGENS": Storage site should be as close as practical to lab in which carcinogens are to be used, so that only small quantities required for ... expt need to be carried. Carcinogens should be kept in only one section of cupboard, an explosion-proof refrigerator or freezer (depending on chemicophysical properties ...) that bears appropriate label. An inventory ... should be kept, showing quantity of carcinogen & date it was acquired ... Facilities for dispensing ... should be contiguous to storage area. /Chemical Carcinogens/

PRECAUTIONS FOR "CARCINOGENS": A high-efficiency particulate arrestor (HEPA) or charcoal filters can be used to minimize amt of carcinogen in exhausted air ventilated safety cabinets, lab hoods, glove boxes or animal rooms ... Filter housing that is designed so that used filters can be transferred into plastic bag without contaminating maintenance staff is avail commercially. Filters should be placed in plastic bags immediately after removal ... The plastic bag should be sealed immediately ... The sealed bag should be labelled properly ... Waste liquids ... should be placed or collected in proper containers for disposal. The lid should be secured & the bottles properly labelled. Once filled, bottles should be placed in plastic bag, so that outer surface ... is not contaminated ... The plastic bag should also be sealed & labelled. ... Broken glassware ... should be decontaminated by solvent extraction, by chemical destruction, or in specially designed incinerators. /Chemical Carcinogens/

SRP: At the time of review, criteria for land treatment or burial (sanitary landfill) disposal practices are subject to significant revision. Prior to implementing land disposal of waste residue (including waste sludge), consult with environmental regulatory agencies for guidance on acceptable disposal practices.

PRECAUTIONS FOR "CARCINOGENS": There is no universal method of disposal that has been proved satisfactory for all carcinogenic compounds & specific methods of chem destruction ... published have not been tested on all kinds of carcinogen-containing waste. ... summary of avail methods & recommendations ... /given/ must be treated as guide only. /Chemical Carcinogens/

PRECAUTIONS FOR "CARCINOGENS": ... Incineration may be only feasible method for disposal of contaminated laboratory waste from biological expt. However, not all incinerators are suitable for this purpose. The most efficient type ... is probably the gas-fired type, in which a first-stage combustion with a less than stoichiometric air:fuel ratio is followed by a second stage with excess air. Some ... are designed to accept ... aqueous & organic-solvent solutions, otherwise it is necessary ... to absorb soln onto suitable combustible material, such as sawdust. Alternatively, chem destruction may be used, esp when small quantities ... are to be destroyed in laboratory. /Chemical Carcinogens/

PRECAUTIONS FOR "CARCINOGENS": HEPA (high-efficiency particulate arrestor) filters ... can be disposed of by incineration. For spent charcoal filters, the adsorbed material can be stripped off at high temp & carcinogenic wastes generated by this treatment conducted to & burned in an incinerator. ... LIQUID WASTE: ... Disposal should be carried out by incineration at temp that ... ensure complete combustion. SOLID WASTE: Carcasses of lab animals, cage litter & misc solid wastes ... should be disposed of by incineration at temp high enough to ensure destruction of chem carcinogens or their metabolites. /Chemical Carcinogens/

For more Disposal Methods (Complete) data for METHYLAZOXYMETHANOL (6 total), please visit the HSDB record page.

PRECAUTIONS FOR "CARCINOGENS": Smoking, drinking, eating, storage of food or of food & beverage containers or utensils, & the application of cosmetics should be prohibited in any laboratory. All personnel should remove gloves, if worn, after completion of procedures in which carcinogens have been used. They should ... wash ... hands, preferably using dispensers of liq detergent, & rinse ... thoroughly. Consideration should be given to appropriate methods for cleaning the skin, depending on nature of the contaminant. No standard procedure can be recommended, but the use of organic solvents should be avoided. Safety pipettes should be used for all pipetting. /Chemical Carcinogens/

PRECAUTIONS FOR "CARCINOGENS": In animal laboratory, personnel should remove their outdoor clothes & wear protective suits (preferably disposable, one-piece & close-fitting at ankles & wrists), gloves, hair covering & overshoes. ... Clothing should be changed daily but ... discarded immediately if obvious contamination occurs ... /also,/ workers should shower immediately. In chemical laboratory, gloves & gowns should always be worn ... however, gloves should not be assumed to provide full protection. Carefully fitted masks or respirators may be necessary when working with particulates or gases, & disposable plastic aprons might provide addnl protection. If gowns are of distinctive color, this is a reminder that they should not be worn outside of lab. /Chemical Carcinogens/

PRECAUTIONS FOR "CARCINOGENS": ... Operations connected with synth & purification ... should be carried out under well-ventilated hood. Analytical procedures ... should be carried out with care & vapors evolved during ... procedures should be removed. ... Expert advice should be obtained before existing fume cupboards are used ... & when new fume cupboards are installed. It is desirable that there be means for decreasing the rate of air extraction, so that carcinogenic powders can be handled without ... powder being blown around the hood. Glove boxes should be kept under negative air pressure. Air changes should be adequate, so that concn of vapors of volatile carcinogens will not occur. /Chemical Carcinogens/

PRECAUTIONS FOR "CARCINOGENS": Vertical laminar-flow biological safety cabinets may be used for containment of in vitro procedures ... provided that the exhaust air flow is sufficient to provide an inward air flow at the face opening of the cabinet, & contaminated air plenums that are under positive pressure are leak-tight. Horizontal laminar-flow hoods or safety cabinets, where filtered air is blown across the working area towards the operator, should never be used ... Each cabinet or fume cupboard to be used ... should be tested before work is begun (eg, with fume bomb) & label fixed to it, giving date of test & avg air-flow measured. This test should be repeated periodically & after any structural changes. /Chemical Carcinogens/

For more Preventive Measures (Complete) data for METHYLAZOXYMETHANOL (9 total), please visit the HSDB record page.

PRECAUTIONS FOR "CARCINOGENS": ... Dispensers of liq detergent /should be available./ ... Safety pipettes should be used for all pipetting. ... In animal laboratory, personnel should ... wear protective suits (preferably disposable, one-piece & close-fitting at ankles & wrists), gloves, hair covering & overshoes. ... In chemical laboratory, gloves & gowns should always be worn ... however, gloves should not be assumed to provide full protection. Carefully fitted masks or respirators may be necessary when working with particulates or gases, & disposable plastic aprons might provide addnl protection. ... Gowns ... /should be/ of distinctive color, this is a reminder that they are not to be worn outside the laboratory. /Chemical Carcinogens/

PRECAUTIONS FOR "CARCINOGENS": Whenever medical surveillance is indicated, in particular when exposure to a carcinogen has occurred, ad hoc decisions should be taken concerning ... /cytogenetic and/or other/ tests that might become useful or mandatory. /Chemical Carcinogens/

MALFORMATIONS OF NERVOUS SYSTEM WERE OBSERVED IN FETUSES OF FEMALE HAMSTERS INJECTED WITH 20-23 MG/KG BODY WT METHYLAZOXYMETHANOL ON 8TH DAY OF PREGNANCY. FEMALES WERE SACRIFICED AT 12TH DAY OF PREGNANCY FOR EXAMINATION OF FETUSES. METHYLAZOXYMETHANOL, PREPARED BY TREATING CYCASIN WITH BETA-GLUCOSIDASE, WAS FOUND TO INDUCE SEX-LINKED RECESSIVE LETHALS WHEN FED TO DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER MALES OF CANTON S STRAIN. STRONG MUTAGENIC EFFECTS WERE OBSERVED AFTER UPTAKE OF 0.09 OR 0.1 UG...PER FLY, BUT UPTAKES OF 0.76 OR 9.3 UG CYCASIN PER FLY WERE NOT MUTAGENIC. METHYLAZOXYMETHANOL DERIVED FROM CRYSTALLINE CYCASIN INDUCED REVERSE MUTATIONS IN SALMONELLA TYPHIMURIUM, ALTHOUGH PARENT CMPD WAS INACTIVE.

MICROENCEPHALY WAS INDUCED TRANSPLACENTALLY IN RAT BY IP INJECTION OF MOTHER...ON 14TH OR 15TH DAY OF PREGNANCY. CONDITION WAS FOUND UNIFORMLY IN ALL LITTER MATES, & EFFECT WAS INDEPENDENT OF RAT STRAIN, FISCHER OR OSBORNE-MENDEL. GLIOMAS WERE FOUND IN ABOUT 10% OF MICROENCEPHALIC RATS PERMITTED TO LIVE BEYOND 1 YR. ... MENTAL DEFECTS WERE FOUND IN RATS EXPOSED TO METHYLAZOXYMETHANOL IN UTERO.

FEMALE FISCHER RATS GIVEN WEEKLY IP INJECTIONS OF 2, 4 OR 6 MG/ANIMAL...FOR 1-12 WEEKS DEVELOPED VARIETY OF TUMORS, PRINCIPALLY OF LIVER, KIDNEY & INTESTINAL TRACT, WITHIN 371 DAYS. SIMILAR RESULTS WERE OBTAINED IN GERM-FREE & CONVENTIONAL MALE SPRAGUE-DAWLEY RATS. REPEATED IP INJECTIONS OF 20 MG/KG BODY WT.../TO HAMSTERS/ PRODUCED ADENOCARCINOMAS OF GALL BLADDER & MULTIPLE CARCINOMAS OF COLON IN 2/5 ANIMALS. SINGLE IV INJECTION OF 20 MG/KG BODY WT...PRODUCED MULTIPLE CYSTADENOMAS & OTHER TUMORS OF LIVER IN 28 ANIMALS...& ADENOCARCINOMAS OF COLON IN 22 ANIMALS.

FOLLOWING IP OR IV INJECTIONS OF 20 MG/KG BODY WT...TO FISCHER RATS ON DAYS 14-16 OR 20-21 OF PREGNANCY, GLIOMAS, PULMONARY ADENOMAS, BENIGN TUMORS OF JEJUNUM, COLON & RECTUM, SARCOMAS OF KIDNEY & A TRANSITIONAL-CELL CARCINOMA OF KIDNEY WERE OBSERVED IN OFFSPRING. LUNG TUMORS OCCURRED IN OFFSPRING WHOSE MOTHERS WERE TREATED ON DAY 21 OF PREGNANCY. COLON-RECTAL, INTESTINAL & KIDNEY TUMORS ALSO OCCURRED IN TREATED MOTHERS.

For more Non-Human Toxicity Excerpts (Complete) data for METHYLAZOXYMETHANOL (9 total), please visit the HSDB record page.

The biologically active aglycone of cycasin (toxic substance found in seeds of various Cycas plants); [HSDB]

Methylazoxymethanol acts as a biological methylating agent in a similar way to carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds like dimethylnitrosamine.

METHYLAZOXYMETHANOL DECOMPOSITION IN AQ SOLN TO FORMALDEHYDE, METHANOL, AND NITROGEN DID NOT OCCUR VIA THE FORMATION OF DIAZOMETHANE AS AN INTERMEDIATE. C-D BOND FORMATION, AS WOULD BE EXPECTED FROM THE SOLVOLYSIS OF DIAZOMETHANE IN THIS MEDIUM, WAS NOT OBSERVED.

Methylazoxymethanol is formed via the hydrolysis of the beta-glycoside cycasin by intestinal bacteria.