2004 Volume 48 Issue 1 Pages 396-406
Three antimicrobial agents, 2-chloroacetamide (CAA), 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1, 3-diol (BNPD) and zinc bis(2-pyridylthio-1-oxide) (ZPT) were evaluated for their skin sensitization potency in a modified guinea pig maximization test (GPMT). These chemicals have low estimated octanol-water partition coefficients and are therefore presumed to have low skin penetration capability. CAA produced weak skin sensitization, BNPD seemed to cause very weak sensitization of guinea pig skin as only one of ten animals had a positive skin reaction to it, and ZPT failed to elicit a positive skin reaction even at maximal concentrations of intradermal injection (5, 000 ppm) and elicitation (50, 000 ppm). Guinea pigs sensitized with CAA cross-reacted to the structural analogue 2-chloro-N-(hydroxymethyl) acetamide, which is known as a contact sensitizer, but not to trichloroacetamide. BNPD-sensitized animals did not react to formaldehyde, which is a degradation product of BNPD. CAA and ZPT are thus defined as positive and negative, respectively, for their skin sensitization potency in the GPMT. BNPD, however, could not be assessed clearly as having a weak skin sensitization potency in the GPMT.
