title: Evaluation of in vitro vs. in vivo methods for assessment of dermal absorption of organic flame retardants: a review.
abstract: There is a growing interest to study human dermal exposure to a large number of chemicals, whether in the indoor or outdoor environment. Such studies are essential to predict the systemic exposure to xenobiotic chemicals for risk assessment purposes and to comply with various regulatory guidelines. However, very little is currently known about human dermal exposure to persistent organic pollutants. While recent pharmacokinetic studies have highlighted the importance of dermal contact as a pathway of human exposure to brominated flame retardants, risk assessment studies had to apply assumed values for percutaneous penetration of various flame retardants (FRs) due to complete absence of specific experimental data on their human dermal bioavailability. Therefore, this article discusses the current state-of-knowledge on the significance of dermal contact as a pathway of human exposure to FRs. The available literature on in vivo and in vitro methods for assessment of dermal absorption of FRs in human and laboratory animals is critically reviewed. Finally, a novel approach for studying human dermal absorption of FRs using in vitro three-dimensional (3D) human skin equivalent models is presented and the challenges facing future dermal absorption studies on FRs are highlighted.
authors.affiliation: Division of Environmental Health and Risk Management, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom; Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Assiut University, 71526 Assiut, Egypt. Electronic address: mae_abdallah@yahoo.co.uk.
authors.forename: Mohamed Abou-Elwafa
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Abdallah
authors.affiliation: Division of Environmental Health and Risk Management, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Gopal
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pawar
authors.affiliation: Division of Environmental Health and Risk Management, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harrad
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001682:Biological Availability; D020405:Dermis / Q000378:metabolism*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D006801:Humans; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000378:metabolism / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012869:Skin Absorption; D046509:Tissue Culture Techniques; D015262:Xenobiotics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000493:pharmacokinetics
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005411:Flame Retardants; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D015262:Xenobiotics
keywords: Bioavailability; Dermal absorption; Flame retardants; Human exposure; Human skin equivalents