In vitro dermal absorption of pesticides: VI. In vivo and in vitro comparison of the organochlorine insecticide DDT in rat, guinea pig, pig, human and tissue-cultured skin

In vitro dermal absorption tests were conducted with the ¹⁴C-ring-labelled pesticide, 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT) dissolved in acetone and applied to dermatomed skin (0.5 mm) of a number of species at dose rates of 16–27 μg/cm². Skin absorption was determined for 48 hr after exposure using in vitro flow-through cells. Skin absorption was calculated from the sum of the percentage recovery of ¹⁴C activity in the receiver solution added to the percentage recovery for the methanol washes of the skin at 48 hr and the skin digest samples. Two receiver solutions, Ringer's saline (used with Moody aluminium cells), and Hanks' HEPES buffered saline with 4% serum albumin (used with Bronaugh flow-through cells) were used. Listed in decreasing order, the total percentage in vitro dermal absorptions obtained by 48 hr after exposure for the five skin types were: 42 ± 2.6% hairless guinea pig; Hanks' receiver (HR)], 34 ± 10.5% (rat; HR), 28 ± 13.2% Testskin; Ringer's receiver (RR)], 28 ± 2.9% (human; HR), 22 ± 3.3% (Testskin; HR), 18 ± 6.2% (pig; RR) and 14 ± 2.1% (pig; HR). The percentage ¹⁴C activity recovered in soapy water rinses of the skin specimens at 24 hr, and for methanol skin washes and skin digests at 48 hr, and of ¹⁴C-labelled volatiles collected in air traps are reported. Data obtained with pig and Testskin for DDT using the Moody flow-through permeation cell was compared with that obtained using the Bronaugh cell. Significantly greater (P < 0.05) percentage recovery was obtained for the soap washes at 24 hr of the skin following the Bronaugh procedure than was obtained with the Moody method. Comparative in vivo studies demonstrated urinary recovery was 2 ± 0.5 and 15 ± 1.7% for rats (dose rate; 6 μg/cm²) and guinea pigs (dose rate: 9 μg/cm²), respectively. Total faecal recovery was 20 ± 1.9 and 44 ± 2.75% for rats and guinea pigs, respectively. Analysis of tissue taken at autopsy 14 days after dosing demonstrated total tissue recovery of 51 ± 5.6% in rats but of only 3 ± 0.7% in guinea pigs. Including the ¹⁴C activity extracted from the skin removed from the dose site at 14 days after exposure, the total recovery of dermally absorbed residues was 73 ± 5.9 and 62 ± 4.1% for rats and guinea pigs, respectively. Recovery of ¹⁴C from soapy water skin washes conducted at 24 hr after exposure was 3 ± 1.4 and 14 ± 1.8% for rats and guinea pigs, respectively, and this was significantly less than that obtained by both the Bronaugh and Moody in vitro procedures. Skin patch recovery was 24% for both rats and guinea pigs. In summary, the in vitro data underestimed the degree of dermal absorption observed in vivo for both rats and guinea pigs, and this was thought to be due to an overly vigorous removal of the pesticide skin deposit by the soap washing procedures used in vitro in comparison with the in vivo washing procedure.