Sodium lauryl sulphate penetration in an in vitro model using human skin

Because of their ability to impair the skin barrier function, detergents constitute a major risk factor for the development of irritant contact dermatitis. Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) is a commonly used detergent for experimental studies within the area of irritant contact dermatitis. In the present study, penetration of S³⁵-labelled SLS was studied in an in vitro model using human cadaver skin. The investigations showed that SLS is capable of permeating the skin barrier when applied under occlusion. SLS could be detected in the dermis and the amount of SLS found here was shown to depend on the dose of SLS applied on the skin. Penetration of SLS continued after removal of the SLS applied as a patch test on the skin surface. Considerable inter-individual variation in the penetration of SLS was demonstrated between different donors.