Toxicological effect of N, N, N', N'-tetramethylethylene on rat brain acetylcholinesterase.

N, N, N', N'-tetramethylethylenediamine (TEMED) is extensively used for initiating polymerization of acrylamide and bisacrylamide gel for electrophoresis and for inorganic complex structure formation. The present study evaluates the toxicological effect of TEMED on structures of rat brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. In vitro study showed that the Ki values for striatum, cortex, cerebellum and hypothalamus were found to be 1.24, 1.4, 1.45 and 1.47 mM. Kinetics studies indicated that TEMED caused mixed type of inhibition that is a combination of competitive and noncompetitive inhibition in striatum, cortex, hypothalamus and cerebellum. The result showed that km increased and V max decreased with increase in TEMED concentration. The IC50 values calculated for striatum, cortex, cerebellum and hypothalamus were found to be as 0.92, 0.92, 1.44 and 1.42 mM. The present study indicates that TEMED is a toxicant for brain via inhibition of AChE. Therefore, proper precaution should be made during its handling.