Comparative in vitro study of the embryotoxic effects of three glycol ethers and their metabolites, the alkoxyacids

Although the teratogenic potential of some glycol ethers and their active metabolites, the alkoxyacids, is well known, a comparative in vitro study of the embryotoxic potential of such compounds has not yet been conducted. The present study investigates the relationship between chemical structure and embryotoxicity of three glycol ethers (methoxy-, ethoxy- and butoxyethanol) and their corresponding alkoxyacids on the development of 9.5-day-old rat embryos cultured over 48 hr. The embryotoxic activity of the alkoxyacids was found to be higher than that of the corresponding ethers. Alkoxyacid embryotoxicity decreased with increasing length of the alkoxy chain, while the ether embryotoxicity increased with chain length. These data emphasize the need for a good knowledge of the metabolism of chemicals and the use of appropriate metabolic systems for reliable evaluation of results deriving from in vitro studies.