Human in vitro percutaneous absorption of bisphenol S and bisphenol A: A comparative study.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is widely used in industrial products. Due to the toxicity of this compound, and to comply with restrictions and regulations, manufacturers have progressively replaced it by substitutes. One of the main substitutes used is bisphenol S (BPS). Despite increasing use in many products, the effects of BPS on human health have been little investigated, and studies on percutaneous BPS absorption and particularly toxicokinetic data are lacking. However, the endocrine-disrupting activity of BPA and BPS appears comparable. Dermal contact is a significant source of occupational exposure and is the main route during handling of bisphenol-containing receipts by cashiers. Here, percutaneous BPS absorption was investigated and compared to that of BPA. Experiments were performed according to OECD guidelines. Test compounds dissolved in a vehicle - acetone, artificial sebum or water - were applied in vitro to fresh human skin samples in static Franz diffusion cells. Flux, cumulative absorbed dose and distribution of dose recovered were measured. BPA absorption was vehicle-dependent ranging from 3% with sebum to 41% with water. BPS absorption was much lower than BPA absorption whatever the vehicle tested (less than 1% of applied dose). However, depending on the vehicle 20% to 47% of the applied BPS dose remained in the skin, and was consequently potentially absorbable. Both BPA and BPS were mainly absorbed without biotransformation. Taken together, these results indicate that workers may be exposed to BPS through skin when handling products containing it. This exposure is of concern as its toxicity is currently incompletely understood.

Capacity of an in vitro rat skin model to predict human dermal absorption: Influences of aging and anatomical site.

In addition to inhalation, dermal absorption is a route of exposure to be considered when assessing occupational risks. To investigate dermal penetration of chemicals, human skin samples are regarded as the gold standard. As human samples can be difficult to obtain, many experiments are performed with rat skins, and the results extrapolated to describe human percutaneous absorption. Here, we examined the characteristics of rat skin samples and compared absorption to that measured with in vitro human skin. The thickness of the stratum corneum layer in rat skin samples was found to be uniform when samples were excised from the animals' backs once they were at least 7-weeks-old. Overall, dorsal skin samples from mature rats could be reliably used to measure the flux of hydrophilic liquid molecules, such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, and N,N-dimethylformamide. In contrast, with a solid lipophilic substance, bisphenol A, dissolved in acetone, the flux obtained with rat skin samples was 3-fold higher than that measured with human skin. Consequently, it does not appear relevant to use rat skin in place of human skin to measure absorption of solid lipophilic substances.

Influence of water dilution on percutaneous absorption of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone in vivo and ex vivo in rats and ex vivo in humans.

N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (NVP) is mainly used as a monomer in the production of polyvinylpyrrolidone or copolymers. Percutaneous absorption is an important source of exposure in the work environment. However, few studies have investigated this route of absorption. In this study, percutaneous absorption of neat or aqueous NVP solutions was measured in vivo and ex vivo in rats, and ex vivo in humans. Penetration and absorption fluxes were very similar following in vivo exposure to neat NVP (0.54 and 0.43 mg/cm(2)/h, respectively). Exposing rats to a 50% aqueous solution of NVP increased both fluxes threefold (to 1.48 and 1.55 mg/cm(2)/h, respectively). Ex vivo, the absorption flux increased with solutions from 10 to 25% of NVP, reached a plateau (between 25 and 50% in rat, 25 and 75% in human) and then decreased with neat NVP. In vivo and ex vivo absorption fluxes measured using rat skin were similar, supporting the hypothesis that the ex vivo measurements were a good representation of what was observed in vivo. Thus, for humans, the ex vivo measurements are likely the same as would be determined in vivo.

Percutaneous absorption of herbicides derived from 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacid: structure-activity relationship.

Ethyl to octyl esters of 2,4-dichlorophenoxy-acetic acids (2,4DAA), 2,4-dichlorophenoxy-propionic acids (2,4DPA) or 2,4-dichlorophenoxy-butyric acids (2,4DBA) are present in the most commonly used herbicides. Their use involves a significant risk of skin exposure, but little is known about the percutaneous flux of these substances. Studies have shown that percutaneous transition of esters may be dependent on their hydrolysis by esterases present in the skin. In this study, we describe ex vivo percutaneous absorption of seven pure esters (methyl to decyl) with a 2,4DA structure for rats (n=6) and humans (n=7). Esters were applied at 50 µL cm(-2) to dermatomed skin (approximately 0.5 mm thick) for 24 h. The enzymatic constants for hydrolysis of each ester by skin esterases were determined in vitro using skin homogenates from both species. Structure-activity relationships linking the evolution of the ex vivo percutaneous flux of esters and the 2,4D structure with enzymatic (Vmax; Km) and/or physical parameters (molecular weight, molecular volume, size of the ester, log(kow)) were examined to develop a good flux estimation model. Although the percutaneous penetration of all of the esters of the 2,4D family are "esterase-dependent", the decreasing linear relationship between percutaneous penetration and hyrophobicity defined by the logarithm for the octanol-water partition coefficient (log(kow)) is the most pertinent model for estimating the percutaneous absorption of esters for both species. The mean flux of the free acid production by the esterases of the skin is not the limiting factor for percutaneous penetration. The rate of hydrolysis of the esters in the skin decreases linearly with log(kow), which would suggest that either the solubility of the esters in the zones of the skin that are rich in esterases or the accessibility to the active sites of the enzyme is the key factor. The structure-activity relationship resulting from this study makes it possible, in humans and in rats, to make a good estimate of the ex vivo percutaneous fluxes for all pure esters of this family of herbicides.

In vivo and ex vivo percutaneous absorption of [14C]-bisphenol A in rats: a possible extrapolation to human absorption?

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a monomer used mainly in the synthesis of polycarbonates and epoxy resins. Percutaneous absorption is the second source of exposure, after inhalation, in the work environment. However, studies on this route of absorption are lacking or incomplete. In this study, percutaneous BPA absorption was measured in vivo and ex vivo in the rat, and ex vivo in humans. An approximately 12-fold difference in permeability between rat skin and human skin was found, with permeability being higher in the rat. In addition, inter- and intra-individual variability of up to tenfold was observed in humans. No accumulation of BPA in the skin was found during exposure. The skin clearance rate following exposure was estimated at 0.4 µg/cm²/h. Ex vivo and in vivo percutaneous absorption fluxes of BPA in the rat were in the same range (about 2.0 µg/cm²/h), suggesting that extrapolation to the in vivo situation in humans may be possible. The European tolerable daily intake (TDI) of BPA is 50 µg/kg body weight. However, many research projects have highlighted the significant effects of BPA in rodents at doses lower than 10 µg/kg/day. A 1-h occupational exposure over 2,000 cm² (forearms and hands) may lead to a BPA absorption of 4 µg/kg/day. This is 8% of the European TDI and is very close to the value at which effects have been observed in animals. This absorption must therefore be taken into account when evaluating risks of BPA exposure, at least until more relevant results on the toxicity of BPA in humans are available.

Comparison of percutaneous absorption and metabolism of di-n-butylphthalate in various species.

An ex vivo study of the percutaneous absorption of di-n-butylphthalate (DBP) showed that DBP was completely hydrolysed by esterases during penetration through rat skin. Fluxes were dependent on the esterase activity in the skin. The aim of this study was to determine the nature of the esterases involved in the hydrolysis of DBP in the skin. The relation between the percutaneous absorption of DBP and the epidermis/dermis esterase activity was determined in human, rat, rabbit, guinea-pig and mouse skin. An animal model was tested to estimate the human percutaneous absorption of lipophilic ester substances such as DBP. The nature of the esterases was determined by inhibition study in epidermis and dermis homogenates. A topical application of neat [(14)C]-DBP was used to determine ex vivo fluxes. Monobutylphthalate (MBP) levels in each skin layer were determined by high-performance-liquid-chromatography (HPLC). DBP was mainly hydrolysed by skin carboxyesterases for the all studied species. Unlike MBP levels in the skin, epidermis or whole skin esterase activity was not related to the DBP fluxes (hairless rat>hairy rat>hairless mouse=rabbit>guinea-pig>human) of all studied species. Therefore prediction of the results in the human being by extrapolation from animal data should be done carefully.

Toxicokinetics and metabolism of N-[(14)C]N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone in male Sprague-Dawley rats: in vivo and in vitro percutaneous absorption.

Neat N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) rapidly penetrated into the skin of male Sprague-Dawley rats after in vivo and in vitro topical application. At the two topical doses tested in vivo, no steady state was observed. The maximal absorption fluxes were 10 and 20 mg/cm(2)/h for 20 microl/cm(2) and 40 microl/cm(2), respectively. Similar results were observed after in vitro topical application of neat [(14)C]NMP (25-400 microl/cm(2)) in fresh full-thickness skin. Whatever the dose tested, the percutaneous absorption fluxes increased with exposure time to reach a maximum value (F(max)) and then decreased. F(max) and the time to reach it (T(max)) increased as the dose increased. At the highest dose, which may be considered as an "infinite dose," the maximal flux (7.7 +/- 1.1 mg/cm(2)/h, n = 12) occurred 6 h after the topical application of NMP. The decrease on percutaneous absorption flux was correlated with the dilution of neat NMP with water from the receptor fluid. A semi-quantitative mathematical model was developed to describe the absorption flux of NMP taking into account the transfer of water through the skin. The K(p) values determined from the different aqueous solutions of NMP (1:1 to 1:32, v/v) were not significantly different. The mean value was 6.4 (10(-3) cm/h) (range, 4.7 to 7.6). Occlusion did not affect the percutaneous absorption flux of neat NMP. Desquamation increased the percutaneous absorption of NMP slightly. The skin did not metabolize NMP. The flux was dependent on the thickness of the skin and was proportional to the concentration of NMP. These findings suggest a passive diffusion of NMP through the skin.