Lipid binding of a halothane metabolite. Relationship to lipid peroxidation in vitro.

Incubation of rat liver microsomes with 14C-halothane in a nitrogen atmosphere results in a high correlation between the formation of conjugated dienes and the binding of a halothane metabolite to phospholipids. Both the binding and the formation of the conjugated dienes required NADPH, were inhibited by carbon monoxide, and increased with duration of incubation and with protein concentration. Both [36Cl] halothane and [14C] halothane showed a similar pattern of binding to microsomal phospholipids suggesting that the chlorine atom is retained by the metabolite that binds. Neither high levels of conjugated dienes produced by halothane in microsomes incubated under nitrogen nor the binding of the halothane metabolite results in the destruction of cytochrome P-450.