In vivo efficacy of the Reactive Skin Decontamination Lotion (RSDL®) kit against organophosphate and carbamate pesticides.

In this study, we assessed the efficacy of the Reactive Skin Decontamination Lotion (RSDL®) Kit against parathion and aldicarb pesticide dermal exposure in a guinea pig model. The pesticides inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE) leading to signs and symptoms of hyperactivity of organs due to accumulation of acetylcholine. The RSDL Kit has been shown to physically remove and chemically degrade chemical warfare agents. Degradation occurs from a nucleophilic substitution reaction between an active ingredient in the RSDL lotion, potassium 2,3-butanedione monoximate (KBDO), with susceptible sites in these compounds. In the present study, guinea pigs dermally exposed to parathion and aldicarb were decontaminated with RSDL to mitigate the toxic effects of the pesticides. It is observed that animals exposed to 749 mg/kg of parathion (n = 3) died within 24 h without RSDL decontamination; however, RSDL-treated animals (n = 3) showed only mild signs of neurotoxicity. The RSDL-treated animals had an AChE inhibition of 0-58% while the untreated animals had up to 86% inhibition. Similarly, RSDL has been demostrated to prevent aldicarb neurotoxicity effects. The percent inhibition of AChE activity during the 24 h post challenge of 9 mg aldicarb/kg of animal weight ranged from 25% to 61% with severe signs of intoxication while only up to 5% with mild or no signs of intoxication in the case of RSDL-decontaminated animals. Generally, it has been shown that the toxic effects of the organophosphate and carbamate pesticides can be prevented via decontamination using the RSDL Kit.