Setting safe acute exposure limits for halon replacement chemicals using physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling.

Most proposed replacements for Halon 1301 as a fire suppressant are halogenated hydrocarbons. The acute toxic endpoint of concern for these agents is cardiac sensitization. An approach is described that links the cardiac endpoint as assessed in dogs to a target arterial concentration in humans. Linkage was made using a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model. Monte Carlo simulations, which account for population variability, were used to establish safe exposure times at different exposure concentrations for Halon 1301 (bromotrifluoromethane), CF(3)I (trifluoroiodomethane), HFC-125 (pentafluoroethane), HFC-227ea (1,1,1,2,3,3,3-heptafluoropropane), and HFC-236fa (1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropane). Application of the modeling technique described here not only makes use of the conservative cardiac sensitization endpoint, but also uses an understanding of the pharmacokinetics of the chemical agents to better establish standards for safe exposure. The combined application of cardiac sensitization data and physiologically based modeling provides a quantitative approach, which can facilitate the selection and effective use of halon replacement candidates.

Simulated blood levels of CF3I in personnel exposed during its release from an F-15 jet engine nacelle and during intentional inhalation.

Of the agents under consideration for protecting unoccupied areas from fire, CF3I (trifluoroiodomethane) has physicochemical properties that give it potential as a "drop-in" replacement for halon 1301. One of the issues concerning the use of CF3I is the potential hazard to ground crews should an inadvertent discharge occur while workers are in or near an engine nacelle. A discharge test of CF3I was conducted on an F-15A jet to record CF3I concentration time histories at locations near the aircraft. The conditions of the discharges simulated an inadvertent ground discharge with the engine nacelle doors open and also with the doors closed. The use of three types of gas analysis instrumentation allowed gas sampling from several locations during the discharge tests. Concentrations measured at selected sensor locations were used as the input to a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model to simulate blood levels that would be attained by individuals inhaling CF3I at sensor locations. Blood levels reached during these exposures were compared with the blood level associated with the lowest observable adverse effect level (LOAEL) for cardiac sensitization to evaluate the possibility of safe egress. The highest blood concentrations simulated were twice the target blood concentration associated with cardiac sensitization. However, simulated blood concentrations of subjects who actually inhaled CF3I reached levels that were 100 times the target level without reported adverse effect. Thus, actual human data may supersede the use of the cardiac sensitization LOAEL obtained from animal studies.

Predicting vehicle effects on the dermal absorption of halogenated methanes using physiologically based modeling.

Occupational and environmental settings present opportunities for humans to come into contact with a variety of chemicals via the dermal route. The chemicals contacting the skin are likely to be diluted with a vehicle or present as a component of a mixture. In order to support risk assessment activities, we evaluated the vehicle effects on dermal penetration of two halogenated hydrocarbons, dibromomethane (DBM) and bromochloromethane (BCM). In vivo exposures to 15 combinations of of these in water, mineral oil, and corn oil vehicles were conducted, and blood was sampled for dibromomethane and bromochloromethane during the exposure at 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 h. A physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model was used to estimate the total amounts of dibromomethane or bromochloromethane that were absorbed during the exposure, and the dermal permeability coefficients were determined. While the permeability coefficients for dibromomethane and bromochloromethane were approximately 73- and 40-fold higher, respectively, in the water vehicle than in the corn oil, the permeability coefficient, when normalized for the skin:vehicle matrix partition coefficient, varied by less than a factor of 2. The permeability in an aqueous vehicle was then successfully used to predict the permeability coefficient for dibromomethane in a nonpolar vehicle, peanut oil.

Physiologically based modeling of nonsteady state dermal absorption of halogenated methanes from an aqueous solution.

Dermal absorption of organic chemicals from aqueous solutions are a concern in both the workplace and the home. Organic chemicals are generally not very soluble in water and the exposure may never reach steady state because the concentration of chemical decreases during the exposure. In vivo animal studies which mimic human exposures, but are carefully controlled, are one way to measure absorption. Whole animal studies are superior to excised skin measurements, because the physiological responses including blood flow, metabolism, and biological defenses are present. In this study, we develop a physiologically based model for nonsteady state exposures to organic chemicals in aqueous solutions. A key feature of this model is a compartment which describes loss of chemical in the exposure solution due to absorption into the skin. We exposed rats to a range of aqueous concentrations of dibromomethane (2.4 to 9.4 mg/ml) and bromochloromethane (3.6 to 12.8 mg/ml) and measured blood concentrations during 24-hr exposures. The blood concentrations peaked at about 1-2 hr and diminished to nearly nothing at 24 hr. Physiologically based models were used to estimate permeability coefficients for each of the exposures, although none of the exposures reached steady state due to the decreasing concentration of chemical on the surface of the skin. A constant permeability coefficient adequately described the blood concentrations during the prolonged exposure. Physiologically based models can be used to estimate permeability coefficients when the concentration of chemical on the skin is not constant. These permeability parameters can subsequently be used for assessing the risks in human exposure situations.

Inflammatory damage to skin by prolonged contact with 1,2-dichlorobenzene and chloropentafluorobenzene.

Skin samples from Fischer-344 rats and Hartley guinea pigs exposed dermally to 1,2-dichlorobenzene (DCB) and chloropentafluorobenzene (CPFB) for up to 4 h were examined for chemical-induced damage. Samples were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and scored for polymorphonuclear cell (PMN) margination, dermal inflammation, and epidermal necrosis by light microscopy. Ultrastructural evaluation of samples fixed with 2% glutaraldehyde and postfixed with 1% osmium tetroxide was used to visualize margination of PMNs. Guinea pigs exhibited postexposure inflammatory changes following an exposure of about an hour-and-a-half shorter duration than rats. DCB-induced inflammation and PMN margination occurred following an exposure about a half hour shorter in both species compared to CPFB. In contrast, epidermal necrosis was more severe with CPFB than with DCB. These changes may account for decreases in chemical penetration rates which have been observed in previous studies with DCB and CPFB in rats and guinea pigs.

Cardiac sensitization thresholds of halon replacement chemicals predicted in humans by physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modeling.

Human exposure to halons and halon replacement chemicals is often regulated on the basis of cardiac sensitization potential. The dose-response data obtained from animal testing are used to determine the no observable adverse effect level (NOAEL) and lowest observable adverse effect level (LOAEL) values. This approach alone does not provide the information necessary to evaluate the cardiac sensitization potential for the chemical of interest under a variety of exposure concentrations and durations. In order to provide a tool for decision-makers and regulators tasked with setting exposure guidelines for halon replacement chemicals, a quantitative approach was established which allowed exposures to be assessed in terms of the chemical concentrations in blood during the exposure. A physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model was used to simulate blood concentrations of Halon 1301 (bromotrifluoromethane, CF3Br), HFC-125 (pentafluoroethane, CHF2CF3), HFC-227ea (heptafluoropropane, CF4CHFCF3), HCFC-123 (dichlorotrifluoroethane, CHCl2CF3), and CF3I (trifluoroiodomethane) during inhalation exposures. This work demonstrates a quantitative approach for use in linking chemical inhalation exposures to the levels of chemical in blood achieved during the exposure.

Physiologically based pharmacokinetic model for the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase by organophosphate esters.

Organophosphate (OP) exposure can be lethal at high doses while lower doses may impair performance of critical tasks. The ability to predict such effects for realistic exposure scenarios would greatly improve OP risk assessment. To this end, a physiologically based model for diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) pharmacokinetics and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition was developed. DFP tissue/blood partition coefficients, rates of DFP hydrolysis by esterases, and DFP-esterase bimolecular inhibition rate constants were determined in rat tissue homogenates. Other model parameters were scaled for rats and mice using standard allometric relationships. These DFP-specific parameter values were used with the model to simulate pharmacokinetic data from mice and rats. Literature data were used for model validation. DFP concentrations in mouse plasma and brain, as well as AChE inhibition and AChE resynthesis data, were successfully simulated for a single iv injection. Effects of repeated, subcutaneous DFP dosing on AChE activity in rat plasma and brain were also well simulated except for an apparent decrease in basal AChE activity in the brain which persisted 35 days after the last dose. The psychologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model parameter values specific for DFP in humans, for example, tissue/blood partition coefficients, enzymatic and nonenzymatic DFP hydrolysis rates, and bimolecular inhibition rate constants for target enzymes were scaled from rodent data or obtained from the literature. Good agreement was obtained between model predictions and human exposure data on the inhibition of red blood cell AChE and plasma butyrylcholinesterase after an intramuscular injection of 33 micrograms/kg DFP and at 24 hr after acute doses of DFP (10-54 micrograms/kg), as well as for repeated DFP exposures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

A partition coefficient determination method for nonvolatile chemicals in biological tissues.

Partition or distribution coefficients are critical elements in efforts designed to describe the uptake, distribution, biotransformation, and excretion of organic chemicals in biological systems. In order to estimate the partition coefficients needed to describe the biological distribution of low-volatility compounds, an experimental method was developed to measure partitioning of nonvolatile compounds into biological tissues. Blood, fat, muscle, liver, and skin were individually incubated in a saline solution containing the chemical of interest. Each sample was centrifuged and 2.0 ml of the supernatant was removed and placed into a prewashed, low binding 10,000 MW cutoff Millipore filter cell. Each cell was fitted with a magnetic stirrer and 32 psi nitrogen was applied to the closed cell. The filtrate was collected, extracted, and analyzed for the chemical of interest. The chemicals evaluated were parathion, lindane (hexachlorocyclohexane), paraoxon, perchloroethylene, trichloroacetic acid, and dichloroacetic acid. These chemicals were chosen to develop this method because their vapor pressures range from 9 x 10(6) to 14.2 mm Hg at 20 degrees C. For the one volatile chemical evaluated, perchloroethylene, the method provided partition coefficient results that were in good agreement with values obtained using the vial equilibration method. The nonvolatile partition coefficient method described in this paper demonstrates an approach for evaluation of chemicals with diverse chemical structure and solubility properties.

Determination of skin:air partition coefficients for volatile chemicals: experimental method and applications.

The partition coefficient (PC) of a chemical in skin is an indicator of the capacity for a chemical in the skin and may reflect the rate at which a chemical penetrates the skin and enters into systemic circulation. In this study we present a simple method to measure the skin:air PC for volatile organic chemicals. Important considerations in the development of this method for a skin:air PC were the effect of size and shape of the skin sample, initial chemical concentration, and time to equilibrium in the skin. Clipped, whole-thickness skin was obtained from the dorsal surface of 8- to 16-week-old male F-344 rats. After removal of the hypodermis, skin was cut into strips and placed on the side of a glass vial. An organic chemical vapor was introduced into a sealed sample vial (initial concentration before equilibration was 203 ppm) and a corresponding reference vial, which were equilibrated at 32 degrees C. Headspace concentrations at equilibrium were used to determine a skin:air PC value. After developing the technique using dibromomethane, a skin:air PC value was determined for perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene, benzene, hexane, toluene, m-xylene, styrene, methyl chloroform, methylene chloride, carbon tetrachloride, halothane, and isoflurane. The skin:air PC values correlated with previously determined vapor permeability constants but correlated poorly with octanol/water PC values. This method provides a screening technique for predicting skin penetration of volatile chemicals.

Physiologically based pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic model for the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase by diisopropylfluorophosphate.

Organophosphate (OP) exposure can be lethal at high doses while lower doses may impair performance of critical tasks. The ability to predict such effects for realistic exposure scenarios would expedite OP risk assessment. To this end, a physiologically based model for diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) pharmacokinetics and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition was developed in mammals. DFP tissue:blood partition coefficients, rates of DFP hydrolysis by esterases, and DFP-esterase bimolecular inhibition rate constants were determined in rat tissue homogenates. Other model parameters were scaled for rats and mice using standard allometric relationships. These DFP-specific parameter values were used with the model to simulate expected in vivo pharmacokinetic data from mice and rats. Literature data were used for model validation. DFP concentrations in mouse plasma and brain were successfully simulated after a single iv injection (B.R. Martin, 1985, Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 77, 275-284). AChE inhibition and AChE resynthesis data from this study were also simulated. Effects of repeated, subcutaneous DFP dosing on AChE activity in rat plasma and brain (H. Michalek, A. Meneguz, and G.M. Bisso, 1982, Arch. Toxicol., Suppl. 5, 116-119; M.E. Traina and L.A. Serpietri, 1984, Biochem. Pharmacol. 33, 645-653) were also simulated well, but the return of brain AChE activity to basal levels after cessation of repeated dosing was not as well described. The initial model structure returned brain AChE activity to the original level, while in the laboratory studies brain AChE never returned to basal levels, even at 35 days after the last dose. These data suggest modulation of AChE synthesis with prolonged DFP exposure. This study demonstrated the possibility of using a model based on mammalian physiology and biochemistry to simulate in vivo data on DFP pharmacokinetics and AChE inhibition. Scaling of the model between rats and mice was also successful. The approach holds promise for predictive simulation of organophosphate-mediated AChE inhibition in humans.

Dermal absorption of organic chemical vapors in rats and humans.

Quantitation of chemical vapor penetration through skin is necessary for assessment of health hazards involved in some occupational environments. Information on penetration of vapors through human skin is minimal because human exposures are not sanctioned. We have investigated the whole-body dermal penetration of styrene, xylene, toluene, perchloroethylene, benzene, halothane, hexane, and isoflurane in rats and compared the permeability constants with available human studies on vapor penetration. Rats with closely clipped fur were exposed to organic chemical vapors (3000 to 60,000 ppm) while breathing fresh air through a latex mask. Blood concentrations taken during the 4-hr exposures were determined by sampling through indwelling jugular cannulas. A physiologically based pharmacokinetic model was used to predict permeability constants consistent with the experimental blood concentrations. Permeability constants (cm/hr) were estimated by a least-square optimization and ranged from 1.75 cm/hr for styrene to 0.03 cm/hr for isoflurane. Rat permeability constants were uniformly two to four times greater when compared to the human constants which were calculated from the literature. These results indicate that organic vapor permeability constants in rats are a conservative estimate of organic vapor permeability constants in humans and that the consistent differences in permeability constants between these two species may be due to physiological differences in the skin.

A physiological pharmacokinetic model for dermal absorption of vapors in the rat.

Absorption of chemical vapors through the skin is a passive process that is not easily quantitated, but may be important in the assessment of health hazards in some occupational circumstances. Physiological modeling is a quantitative technique which may provide insight into the system being modeled and can be used for interspecies extrapolation. We developed a physiological model for the penetration of organic vapors through skin in vivo which allows the prediction of blood concentrations, after dermal vapor exposures in the rat, when chemical distribution coefficients, physiological and metabolic parameters, and skin permeability constants are known. We used the model in two distinct ways. First, permeability constants for dibromomethane (DBM), bromochloromethane (BCM), and methylene chloride (DCM) were calculated by using a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model for dihalomethanes to relate blood concentrations during dermal vapor exposures to the total amount of chemical which was absorbed through the skin. Second, a skin compartment was added to the model which had input based on the permeability-area-concentration product. This predictive model adequately described blood concentrations after DBM, BCM, and DCM dermal vapor exposures over a wide range of concentrations. This model could easily be modified for use with other organic vapors, and could be used to extrapolate to human vapor exposure conditions by substituting human physiological parameters for the animal values, providing permeability constants are known or can be determined.

Dermal absorption of dihalomethane vapors.

The dermal absorption of dibromomethane (DBM) and bromochloromethane (BCM) vapors was studied in rats placed in a specially designed chamber incorporating individual respiratory protection to avoid pulmonary uptake. Exposures (DBM: 500 to 10,000 ppm; BCM: 2500 to 40,000 ppm) lasted 4 hr during which time five blood samples were drawn from jugular cannulae for analysis of the parent dihalomethane by gas chromatography. Estimates of the amounts of chemicals stored in tissues and exhaled were based on concentrations in the blood and tissue partition coefficients, tissue volumes, and ventilation rate. Total metabolism was estimated from the amount of bromide released during the 4-hr exposure. The total amount of vapor absorbed through the skin was calculated from the estimates of the amount of parent chemical in blood and tissues, and the amounts exhaled and metabolized. The dermal flux for each concentration (DBM: 0.004 to 0.078 mg/cm2/hr; BCM: 0.011 to 0.164 mg/cm2/hr) was calculated by dividing the amount absorbed by exposed surface area and duration of exposure. Flux was divided by exposure concentration to calculate a permeability constant. With each dihalomethane the permeability constants (DBM: congruent to 1.12 cm/hr; BCM: congruent to 0.79 cm/hr) were essentially independent of exposure concentration. This study shows that a whole-body dermal vapor exposure in rodents is technically possible, and quantitation of penetration can be accomplished using calculations based on achieved blood concentrations and some measure of metabolism.