Abstract
EVIDENCE for the N-demethylation of morphine has been provided by the demonstration in vivo of the pulmonary excretion1,2 of carbon-14 labelled carbon dioxide from morphine-N-methyl-14C and in vitro 3,4 by the enzymatic liberation of formaldehyde. The formation of normorphine in vivo has not been demonstrated directly, principally because of the low sensitivity and poor specificity of procedures used. The recent preparation of tritium nuclear-labelled morphine5 has provided the means by which the in vivo formation of normorphine from morphine could be observed in a sensitive and specific manner using selective paper chromatography.
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MISRA, A., MULE, S. & WOODS, L. In vivo Formation of Normorphine in the Rat as a Metabolite of Tritium Nuclear-labelled Morphine. Nature 190, 82–83 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1038/190082b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/190082b0
