Dw. Roberts et al., Structure-activity relationships in the murine local lymph node assay for skin sensitization: alpha,beta-diketones, CONTACT DER, 41(1), 1999, pp. 14-17
The biological activity of skin-sensitizing chemicals is related to their a
bility to react, either directly or after metabolic activation, with approp
riate skin proteins. For direct acting electrophilic compounds, this abilit
y can be modelled, using the RAI (relative alkylation index) approach, by a
combination of electrophilicity and hydrophobicity parameters. Several str
ucture-activity relationships based on this approach have been reported, bu
t most of them cover guinea pig sensitization test data on what chemists wo
uld classify as relatively soft electrophilic chemicals. In the present wor
k, an electrophilicity parameter based on Taft substituent constants is der
ived for hard electrophiles having a reactive carbonyl group, and is used t
o calculate RAI values for the analyis of sensitization test data obtained
in the murine local lymph node assay (LLNA) for a series of alpha,beta-dike
tones. The sensitization potential of these reactive hard electrophilic car
bonyl compounds in the LLNA shows a good correlation with the RAI. Overall,
the findings reaffirm our view that physical organic chemistry is the key
to understanding why some chemicals sensitize more strongly than others, wh
ile some do not sensitize at all, and provide further evidence of the value
of the LLNA for SAR studies.