freezing mice......humane question...well lots of

[Cazador]

Hi all,
I just wanted to sort of discourage the carbon monoxide (CO) idea because it has a really high affinity for the iron molecule in hemoglobin, and essentially binds irreversibly. That means the CO will remain in a red blood cell until the cell dies, and they normally have an approximately 60 day lifespan. Even if all the red blood cells ruptured during freezing, the lack of a functional circulatory system would prevent its release from within the mouse. There is also the distinct possibility that you might euthanize yourself while administering the CO to the mouse. Keep it safe,
Rick

[Stefan-A]

Hi all,
I just wanted to sort of discourage the carbon monoxide (CO) idea because it has a really high affinity for the iron molecule in hemoglobin, and essentially binds irreversibly. That means the CO will remain in a red blood cell until the cell dies, and they normally have an approximately 60 day lifespan. Even if all the red blood cells ruptured during freezing, the lack of a functional circulatory system would prevent its release from within the mouse. There is also the distinct possibility that you might euthanize yourself while administering the CO to the mouse. Keep it safe,
Rick

Feel free to correct me:

The impression I got from last week's chemistry class (I study sustainable development and the course is very ecology/biology oriented, so much of the focus has been on carbon and oxygen), the body uses iron (certain animals use copper) in hemoglobin to bind and transport oxygen and CO is attracted to that oxygen. The reason is that CO is unstable and by attaching itself to that O, it creates CO2 and becomes stable. It doesn't stay CO, it becomes CO2 in the body. Disclaimer: it wouldn't surprise me if this explanation was wrong, I wouldn't expect a chemistry teacher to know the first thing about biology. Most explanations suggest that CO just replaces the O in the protein and none of them seem to consider it a direct health hazard when consumed (as opposed to inhaled). According to wikipedia CO is even used to treat seafood and beef?

[abcat1993]

But who knows who can change Wikapedia.