RODENTS with striatal C6 glioma were given carboplatin (65 mg kg−1in a 10 mg ml−1solution, i.v.) after pretreatment with the NO modulating agents 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1), NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), bradykinin or dexamethasone, to determine whether platinum disposition in the glioma and normal brain was altered. There was no significant change in mean glioma platinum disposition after 3 days of dexamethasone (32 ± 9.7 μg/g). Treatment with SIN-1 (45.1 ± 14.2 μg/g), L-NAME (42.9 ± 4.9 μg/g) and bradykinin (45.7 ± 11.3 μg/g) all resulted in increased tumour platinum concentration compared with controls (29 ± 5.5 μg/g) but these results were not statistically significant. Dexamethasone significantly (p< 0.05) reduced the platinum concentration in normal brain but the other agents had no effect. Although glioma platinum concentration could be increased by some agents that alter tissue NO levels, the patterns of response were unpredictable and the magnitude (∼50%) of the increased platinum disposition is unlikely to be biologically significant.