The skin is a major route of pesticide exposure. Studying pesticide absorption in vivo can be can be difficult to perform, time consuming and complex to interpret. In vitro systems have therefore been developed to study mass transfer of these chemicals in an isolated fashion. These systems consist of a donor and receiver component. Skin is sandwiched between the two pieces, which are then clamped together.
Pesticide is placed in the donor chamber, exposing the epidermal side of the skin.
The receiver chamber is filled with buffer, which does not contain pesticide. The receiver solution is then monitored for the presence of pesticide. We have performed several different studies using this model and have found synergistic interactions between certain chemicals and pesticide absorption through the skin. If multiple pesticides are coapplied they can interact, resulting in enhanced penetration of the individual compounds. Additionally, commercially available sunscreens can interact with certain pesticides to increase their dermal penetration.