Mh. Abraham et al., AN ANALYSIS OF NASAL IRRITATION THRESHOLDS USING A NEW SOLVATION EQUATION, Fundamental and applied toxicology, 31(1), 1996, pp. 71-76
In the present paper we have developed a quantitative structure-activi
ty relationship (QSAR) equation for nasal pungency caused by nonreacti
ve volatile organic compounds (VOCs), Our QSAR was developed upon prev
iously published nasal pungency thresholds in anosmics, i.e,, patients
lacking a sense of smell and thus responding only to sensory irritati
on evoked by trigeminal nerve stimulation. The reported solvation equa
tion, which fits the data with considerable precision, describes senso
ry potency in terms of interaction via electron pairs, dipolarity/pola
rizability, hydrogen bond acidity and basicity, and hydrophobicity, It
correspondingly suggests relevant physicochemical properties of the b
iophase where the sensory response is brought about. The equation impl
ies that in the range of molecular size where nonreactive VOCs can pro
duce any pungency, transport from the air to the biophase strictly det
ermines potency. In this respect, the potency of nasal pungency shares
characteristics with the ability of VOCs to cause narcosis and anesth
esia. (C) 1996 Society of Toxicology