Development of a simulation chamber for the evaluation of dermal absorption of volatile organic compounds

Abstract An exposition chamber has been designed and developed for the production of contaminated atmospheres with fixed and known concentration of volatile organic compounds. The proposed chamber has been evaluated for the determination of in-vitro diffusion parameters, such as flux and lag time for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX). Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and Strat-M® membranes were evaluated, including the effect of membrane thickness, from 0.5 to 3.0 mm, on the diffusion parameters. The obtained flux values and lag times, ranged from 0.2 to 1.5 μg cm−2 h−1 and from 10 to 130 min, respectively, for studies performed at a BTEX concentration of 51 μg L−1 in air. Diffe…