THE INFLUENCE OF DIMETHYL SULPHOXIDE ON THE PERCUTAENOUS MIGRATION OF POTASSIUM BUTYL, [35S] SULPHATE, POTASSIUM METHYL [35S] SULPHATE AND SODIUM [35S] SULPHATE

SUMMARY.— The potassium salts of methyl [³⁵S] sulphate and butyl [³⁵S] sulphate have been prepared and their ability to migrate across selected human skin samples from aqueous, unbuffered solutions examined. By comparison to the results obtained with potassium dodecyl [³⁵S] sulphate in the previous paper, both the present sulphate esters are able to migrate across intact whole skin samples with the methyl ester exhibiting the higher order of migration. Application of the dodecyl ester and the butyl ester in dimethyl sulphoxide solutions did not alter the pattern of migration whereas the methyl ester showed a concentration dependant accelerant relationship with increasing concentrations of dimethyl sulphoxide. Limited studies on inorganic ^aaSO² ions indicated that this substance did not migrate across whole skin samples from aqueous unbuffered solutions. The primary resistance barrier t the passage of each of the above test materials was absent when "stripped" skin samples were used as the diffusion-membranes. The implications of these findings are discussed.