Biomaterial Database

Percutaneous absorption of 2-butoxyethanol in man. 1988

G Johanson, and A Boman, and B Dynésius

National Institute of Occupational Health, Solna, Sweden.

The percutaneous absorption of the commonly used glycol ether 2-butoxyethanol (ethylene glycol monobutyl ether) was investigated in 12 exposure experiments with five men. The subject kept two or four fingers immersed in neat butoxyethanol for 2 h. Arterialized capillary blood samples were collected from the other hand before, during, and up to 4 h after the exposure and analyzed for butoxyethanol by gas chromatography. Urine was collected for 24 h and analyzed for the metabolite butoxyacetic acid, also by gas chromatography. The presence of butoxyethanol in blood and of butoxyacetic acid in urine confirmed that butoxyethanol enters the systemic circulation in man in vivo during dermal exposure. Percutaneous uptake rates were calculated from measured blood levels of butoxyethanol with the use of kinetic parameters (clearance and volume of distribution) obtained in earlier experiments with the same subjects. The uptake rates ranged from 7 to 96 nmol.min-1.cm-2. The results indicate that persons exposing large portions of their skin to butoxyethanol are at risk of absorbing acutely toxic doses.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D005026	Ethylene Glycols	An ethylene compound with two hydroxy groups (-OH) located on adjacent carbons. They are viscous and colorless liquids. Some are used as anesthetics or hypnotics. However, the class is best known for their use as a coolant or antifreeze.	Dihydroxyethanes,Ethanediols,Glycols, Ethylene
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012307	Risk Factors	An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, inborn or inherited characteristic, which, based on epidemiological evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition considered important to prevent.	Health Correlates,Risk Factor Scores,Risk Scores,Social Risk Factors,Population at Risk,Populations at Risk,Correlates, Health,Factor, Risk,Factor, Social Risk,Factors, Social Risk,Risk Factor,Risk Factor Score,Risk Factor, Social,Risk Factors, Social,Risk Score,Score, Risk,Score, Risk Factor,Social Risk Factor
D012869	Skin Absorption	Uptake of substances through the SKIN.	Absorption, Skin,Intracutaneous Absorption,Intradermal Absorption,Percutaneous Absorption,Transcutaneous Absorption,Transdermal Absorption,Absorption, Intracutaneous,Absorption, Intradermal,Absorption, Percutaneous,Absorption, Transcutaneous,Absorption, Transdermal,Absorptions, Intracutaneous,Absorptions, Intradermal,Absorptions, Percutaneous,Absorptions, Skin,Absorptions, Transcutaneous,Absorptions, Transdermal,Intracutaneous Absorptions,Intradermal Absorptions,Percutaneous Absorptions,Skin Absorptions,Transcutaneous Absorptions,Transdermal Absorptions
D012885	Skinfold Thickness	The measurement of subcutaneous fat located directly beneath the skin by grasping a fold of skin and subcutaneous fat between the thumb and forefinger and pulling it away from the underlying muscle tissue. The thickness of the double layer of skin and subcutaneous tissue is then read with a caliper. The five most frequently measured sites are the upper arm, below the scapula, above the hip bone, the abdomen, and the thigh. Its application is the determination of relative fatness, of changes in physical conditioning programs, and of the percentage of body fat in desirable body weight. (From McArdle, et al., Exercise Physiology, 2d ed, p496-8)	Skinfold Thicknesses,Thickness, Skinfold,Thicknesses, Skinfold