Skip Navigation



ToxSci Advance Access published online on May 5, 2006
Toxicological Sciences, doi:10.1093/toxsci/kfl010
This Article
Right arrow Advance Access manuscript (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
92/2/349    most recent
kfl010v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Brand, R. M.
Right arrow Articles by Charron, A. R
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Brand, R. M.
Right arrow Articles by Charron, A. R
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Toxicology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Received November 7, 2005
Accepted December 25, 2005

Environmental Toxicology

A Single Oral Dose of Ethanol can Alter Transdermal Absorption of Topically Applied Chemicals in Rats

R. M. Brand 1 *, J. L. Jendrzejewski 1, E. M. Henery 1, and A. R Charron 1

1 Division of Emergency Medicine and Department of Internal Medicine, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare and Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, Evanston IL

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
R. M. Brand, E-mail: rhbrand{at}enh.org


  Abstract

Background: Topical ethanol is used as a dermal penetration enhancer in some commercial products. Previous studies have demonstrated that chronic ethanol consumption can also disrupt skin barrier function, leading to increased transdermal penetration. This observation becomes much more relevant if a single drinking episode induces similar changes. The purpose of this study was thus to examine the transdermal penetration of three model chemicals after acute ethanol consumption. Methods: Wistar rats were gavaged with either 10, 6, 4.3, 3, 1.5 g/kg ethanol or saline and were allowed to recover for 2 or 24 hours. Blood and skin ethanol levels were determined and in vitro penetration experiments were performed. The herbicide paraquat, industrial solvent dimethyl formamide (DMF) or insect repellent DEET were used as model chemicals. Absorption was determined and directly compared between ethanol and saline treated skin by calculating enhancement ratios. Results: Blood ethanol levels range from 0.25 to 0.015% at 2 hours with skin levels at 12-18% of blood values. Ethanol enhances the absorption of paraquat, DMF and DEET in a dose dependent fashion. Paraquat and DEET showed no appreciable reduction in enhancement between 2 and 24 hours post gavage for the 10 g/kg dose, but DMF did. Enhancement ratios were higher at 24 hours for 10g/kg than for 6g/kg animals, demonstrating a dose response relationship for recovery time. Conclusions: These studies imply that increased absorption of topical chemical occurs after alcohol ingestion. Both acute and chronic ethanol consumption can compromise the dermal barrier.

Keywords: Ethanol; transdermal; topical; DEET; paraquat; DMF.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.