Cocaine and Cocaethylene Binding to Human Milk
Open Access
- 1 October 1998
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in American Journal of Clinical Pathology
- Vol. 110 (4) , 491-494
- https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcp/110.4.491
Abstract
The binding of cocaine and its ethyl analog, cocaethylene, to human milk was studied using equilibrium dialysis at 4°C. For cocaine, a low-affinity, high-capacity binder was noted (equilibrium constant of association, Ka, 3.12 × 103 L/mol; concentration of binding sites, B0, 3.85 × 10–4 mol/L), as well as a very low affinity, high-capacity binder (Ka, 7.54 × 102 L/mol; B0, 1.42 × 10–3 mol/L). For cocaethylene, 2 low-affinity, high-capacity binders were suggested: a stronger (Ka, 3.79 × 103 L/mol; B0, 3.27 × 10–4 mol/L) and a weaker (Ka 1.84 × 103 L/mol; B0 8.91 × 10–4 mol/L) binder. The low-affinity, high-capacity binder for cocaine and cocaethylene seems to be albumin, while the weaker nonspecific binding may be due to lipids. Up to 55% of cocaine and up to 61% of cocaethylene were bound to milk; such binding, coupled with the lower pH of milk (6.9) relative to that of serum (7.4), may enhance the mammary secretion of these 2 basic drugs, having important consequences for the nursing infant.Keywords
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