Journal of Applied Toxicology

Since the advent of World War II, governments and laboratories have made a concerted effort to improve prophylactic and therapeutic interventions counteracting cutaneously directed chemical warfare agents (CWA), and by inference, common dermatotoxicants. In vitro percutaneous penetration assays, first utilized by Tregear in the 1940s, have been fundamental to this effort. The first part of this review summarizes knowledge of percutaneous penetration extending insights into the complexities of penetration and potential newer assays that may be of practical importance

Cutaneously directed chemical warfare agents can elicit significant morbidity and mortality. The optimization of prophylactic and therapeutic interventions counteracting these agents is crucial. The second part of this review continues the exploration of the factors involved in percutaneous (PC) penetration that lend insights to the complexities of penetration, and the development of newer assays and ideal decontamination protocols.

The occurrence of hyaline droplet (HD) accumulation related to age, dose and time after treatment in male Wistar rats was investigated after a single i.p. injection of hexachloro-1:3-butadiene (HCBD). HD accumulation is greater at 2 months of age, is independent of the dose and shows a time-related accumulation in term of incidence and severity from 6 h after dosing and decreasing at 72 and 96 h. The present results show that HD accumulation is an early finding after HCBD injection

The effect of deoxyactein isolated from Cimicifuga racemosa on the function of osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells was studied. Deoxyactein caused a significant elevation of cell growth, alkaline phosphatase activity, collagen content, and mineralization (P<0.05). Moreover, deoxyactein significantly decreased the production of reactive oxygen species and osteoclast differentiation inducing factors such as TNF-a, IL-6, and receptor activator of nuclear factor-kB ligand in the presence of antimycin A. These results demonstrate that deoxyactein may have positive effects on skeletal structure.

Pharmacists and nurses handling antineoplastic drugs showed significantly increased chromosomal aberration and micronuclei frequencies. Compared with pharmacists, nurses showed notably higher levels of chromosome damage, but not micronuclei frequency. Correlation analyses pointed to the influence of age and duration of occupational exposure on the level of chromosome damage among exposed subjects.

The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant and anti-apoptotic effects of ACE on DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. Pre-treatment of ACE markedly reduced the reactivity and the amount of cardiomyocyte apoptosis and improved the biochemical parameters in the DOX + ACE group in comparison with the DOX group. These biochemical and histological disturbances were effectively attenuated on pre-treatment with ACE. The present study showed that ACE may be a suitable cardio protector against toxic effects of DOX.

Alpha-blockers, as doxazosin mesylate, and 5-alpha reductase inhibitors, as finasteride, decrease both acute urinary retention and the need for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)-related surgery. Saw palmetto has also been used as an alternative to BPH. The activity of these compounds as inducers of different types of DNA-lesions was assessed using SMART test in Drosophila melanogaster. Finasteride was non-genotoxic in our experimental conditions. Doxazosin and saw palmetto were inducers of homologous recombination, an event linked to the loss of heterozygosity.

Since application of infusion solutions is one of the most common medical treatments, the objective of this study was to determine the migration of phthalates from softened PVC storage bags into infusion solution in different time periods within one year from date of production using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The presence of different phthalate esters leads to the conclusion that the pharmacopeic requirement for polymer cleanness was not fully met.

We investigated tissue dissemination of cobalt and chromium ions and determined if administration of ascorbic acid affected their in vivo distribution using rats as a model system. Organs of rats treated with Cr (VI) or Co (II) [but not Cr (III)] had higher metal ion levels when compared with control levels in rats without metal treatment. Prior intraperitoneal injection of ascorbic acid lowered tissue uptake of both Cr VI and Co II, and increased faecal excretion, but not to a significant extent.

Nanocrystals are potentially useful for a variety of biological applications. We have synthesized zinc sulfide (ZnS) semiconductor nanocrystals in the 3- to 4-nm size range with selected capping agents intended to protect the nanocrystal core and increase its biological compatibility. We show that the biocompatibility of ZnS nanocrystals with primary murine splenocytes is influenced by both the chemical structure of the outer capping agent on the nanocrystal as well as the duration of time the nanocrystal is stored in suspension.