Percutaneous absorption of herbicides derived from 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacid: structure-activity relationship.

Ethyl to octyl esters of 2,4-dichlorophenoxy-acetic acids (2,4DAA), 2,4-dichlorophenoxy-propionic acids (2,4DPA) or 2,4-dichlorophenoxy-butyric acids (2,4DBA) are present in the most commonly used herbicides. Their use involves a significant risk of skin exposure, but little is known about the percutaneous flux of these substances. Studies have shown that percutaneous transition of esters may be dependent on their hydrolysis by esterases present in the skin. In this study, we describe ex vivo percutaneous absorption of seven pure esters (methyl to decyl) with a 2,4DA structure for rats (n=6) and humans (n=7). Esters were applied at 50 μL cm(-2) to dermatomed skin (approximately 0.5 mm thick) for 24 h. The enzymatic constants for hydrolysis of each ester by skin esterases were determined in vitro using skin homogenates from both species. Structure-activity relationships linking the evolution of the ex vivo percutaneous flux of esters and the 2,4D structure with enzymatic (Vmax; Km) and/or physical parameters (molecular weight, molecular volume, size of the ester, log(kow)) were examined to develop a good flux estimation model. Although the percutaneous penetration of all of the esters of the 2,4D family are "esterase-dependent", the decreasing linear relationship between percutaneous penetration and hyrophobicity defined by the logarithm for the octanol-water partition coefficient (log(kow)) is the most pertinent model for estimating the percutaneous absorption of esters for both species. The mean flux of the free acid production by the esterases of the skin is not the limiting factor for percutaneous penetration. The rate of hydrolysis of the esters in the skin decreases linearly with log(kow), which would suggest that either the solubility of the esters in the zones of the skin that are rich in esterases or the accessibility to the active sites of the enzyme is the key factor. The structure-activity relationship resulting from this study makes it possible, in humans and in rats, to make a good estimate of the ex vivo percutaneous fluxes for all pure esters of this family of herbicides.