.Pharmacolibrary.Drugs.V_Various.V04C_OtherDiagnosticAgents.V04CX08_CarbonMonoxide.CarbonMonoxide

Information

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas. In medical applications, it is used primarily as a diagnostic agent for measuring diffusing capacity of the lung (DLCO test) in pulmonary function testing, and experimentally as a research tool. It is not approved as a therapeutic drug but is administered under strict clinical conditions for diagnostic assessment. Carbon monoxide has high affinity for hemoglobin, displacing oxygen to form carboxyhemoglobin.

Pharmacokinetics

No published human pharmacokinetic model exists for carbon monoxide as a drug in standard clinical use. Carbon monoxide is typically administered by inhalation in diagnostic settings at very low concentrations (e.g., 0.3% in air, single breath or up to several minutes), and parameters such as absorption are governed by pulmonary uptake and binding to hemoglobin. No peer-reviewed publications were found providing compartment model parameters such as volume of distribution or clearance in the classic drug sense.

References

1. Darby, TD, et al., & van Rossum, JM (1984). Cigarette smoking pharmacokinetics and its relationship to smoking behaviour. Clinical pharmacokinetics 9(5) 435–449. DOI:10.2165/00003088-198409050-00003 PUBMED:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6388953

2. Werley, MS, et al., & Lee, PN (2007). Possible effects on smokers of cigarette mentholation: a review of the evidence relating to key research questions. Regulatory toxicology and pharmacology : RTP 47(2) 189–203. DOI:10.1016/j.yrtph.2006.09.004 PUBMED:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17097785

3. Vélez de Mendizábal, N, et al., & Brown, JW (2015). Nicotine and cotinine exposure from electronic cigarettes: a population approach. Clinical pharmacokinetics 54(6) 615–626. DOI:10.1007/s40262-014-0221-7 PUBMED:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25503588

Revisions

• 06/2025 initial generated model