2-Chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine (atrazine, ATR)is a toxicologically important and widely used herbicide. Recent studies have shown that it can elicit neurological, immunological, developmental, and biochemical alterations in several model organisms, including in mice. Because disposition data in mice are lacking, we evaluated ATR's metabolism and tissue dosimetry after single oral exposures (5-250 mg/kg) in C57BL/6 mice using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (Ross and Filipov, 2006). ATR was metabolized and cleared rapidly; didealkyl ATR (DACT) was the major metabolite detected in urine, plasma, and tissues. Plasma ATR peaked at 1 h postdosing and rapidly declined, whereas DACT peaked at 2 h and slowly declined. Most ATR and metabolite residues were excreted within the first 24 h. However, substantial amounts of DACT were still present in 25-to 48-h and 49-to 72-h urine. ATR reached maximal brain levels (0.06-1.5 M) at 4 h (5-125 mg/kg) and 1 h (250 mg/kg) after dosing, but levels quickly declined to <0.1 M by 12 h in all the groups. In contrast, strikingly high concentrations of DACT (1.5-50 M), which are comparable with liver DACT levels, were detectable in brain at 2 h. Brain DACT levels slowly declined, paralleling the kinetics of plasma DACT. Our findings suggest that in mice ATR is widely distributed and extensively metabolized and that DACT is a major metabolite detected in the brain at high levels and is ultimately excreted in urine. Our study provides a starting point for the establishment of models that link target tissue dose to biological effects caused by ATR and its in vivo metabolites.Atrazine (ATR) is a triazine herbicide that effectively inhibits photosynthesis in broadleaf weeds and grasses (Environmental Protection Agency, 2003). In the United States, ATR is applied on crops such as corn, sugarcane, pineapples, macadamia nuts, and sorghum, as well as on highway and railroad rights-of-way and on evergreen trees (Environmental Protection Agency, 2003). Several epidemiological studies have investigated the link between ATR exposure and adverse human health outcomes (Hoppin et al., 2002;MacLennan et al., 2002;De Roos et al., 2003;Hessel et al., 2004). However, the human data at present are equivocal. In some cases ATR exposure is associated with negative health outcomes, whereas in others it is not. One major drawback of virtually all the existing epidemiological studies is the fact that ATR exposure has not been precisely quantified or estimated. In this regard, exposure-only studies, i.e., studies where health outcomes have not been assessed, indicate that pesticide applicators and farmers during spraying are exposed to appreciable levels of ATR because detectable amounts of ATR and its metabolites are found in their saliva and urine (Hines et al., 2006). Moreover, a recent report indicated that not only ATR applicators but also their families are at risk of high level of ATR exposure (Curwin et al., 2007).Although data on health effects of ATR in humans ar...