Toxicology of Industrial Compounds

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Toxicology of Surfactants: Molecular,
Mechanistic and Regulatory Aspects
WALTER STERZEL
Henkel KGaA, Düsseldorf
Introduction
The vast distribution of surfactants in various products in everyday use
requires that the unwanted effects as well as the desired properties are
known in order to recognize possible risks and prevent any damage to the
health of humans. In order to understand the effects of surfactants on the
organism, their most important biochemical effects, which depend on the
interaction of surface active agents with basic biological structures like
membranes, proteins and enzymes, are discussed. Following this discussion
the local effects of surfactants are described. Local in this sense are all the
effects encountered directly at the point of contact with the outer surfaces
of the body, such as skin and mucous membrane irritation as well as
allergies arising from skin contact. After this section the toxicokinetic
properties of surfactants, providing information about type and extent of
absorption by organisms, metabolic pathways and their elimination are
discussed. The section on systemic effects deals, in contrast to local effects,
with reactions arising after the substance has entered the organism by
swallowing, skin penetration or inhalation.
Due to their technical and economic importance, surfactants have been
used extensively for decades. This resulted in an abundance of scientific
publications concerning their effects on organisms. As a complete review
would exceed the scope of this contribution, the focus will centre on a
description of exemplary data which are important for the evaluation of
the safety of surfactants.
Biochemical properties of surfactants
Surfactants come into immediate contact with the body during cleaning of
the skin and act on the skin cells directly. When surfactants are swallowed
unin tentionally, tissue damage is also possible. The question of the effects
on the cells and cell components like membranes, proteins and enzymes is
therefore also important from a toxicological point of view.