A physiologically based pharmacokinetic model was developed for acrylamide (AA) and three of its metabolites: glycidamide (GA) and the glutathione conjugates of acrylamide (AA-GS) and glycidamide (GA-GS). Liver GA-DNA adducts and hemoglobin (Hb) adducts with AA and GA were included as pharmacodynamic components of the model. Serum AA and GA concentrations combined with urinary elimination levels for all four components from male and female mice and rats were simulated from iv and oral administration of 0.1 mg/kg AA or 0.12 mg/kg GA. Adduct formation and decay rates were determined from a 6 week exposure to approximately 1 mg/kg AA in the drinking water and subsequent 6 week nonexposure period. Human urinary excretion data and Hb adduct data were utilized to extrapolate to a human model. The steady-state human liver GA-DNA adduct level from exposure to background levels of AA in the diet was predicted to be between 0.06 and 0.26 adducts per 10(8) nucleotides.