[Relation between the toxicity of molecules of industrial value and their physico-chemical properties: test of upper airway irritation applied to 4 chemical groups].

Correlations between molecular structure and a given biological activity have not, as yet, been widely applied to industrial toxicology. After a brief outline of the chief characteristics of the Hansch model and a definition of the selected physico-chemical parameters, this paper presents a study of the quantitative relationship between these parameters and upper-respiratory-tract irritation (determination of the RD50) for four chemical groups: ketones, alcohols, acetates and benzene derivatives.