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EC number: 205-011-6 | CAS number: 131-11-3
- Life Cycle description
- Uses advised against
- Endpoint summary
- Appearance / physical state / colour
- Melting point / freezing point
- Boiling point
- Density
- Particle size distribution (Granulometry)
- Vapour pressure
- Partition coefficient
- Water solubility
- Solubility in organic solvents / fat solubility
- Surface tension
- Flash point
- Auto flammability
- Flammability
- Explosiveness
- Oxidising properties
- Oxidation reduction potential
- Stability in organic solvents and identity of relevant degradation products
- Storage stability and reactivity towards container material
- Stability: thermal, sunlight, metals
- pH
- Dissociation constant
- Viscosity
- Additional physico-chemical information
- Additional physico-chemical properties of nanomaterials
- Nanomaterial agglomeration / aggregation
- Nanomaterial crystalline phase
- Nanomaterial crystallite and grain size
- Nanomaterial aspect ratio / shape
- Nanomaterial specific surface area
- Nanomaterial Zeta potential
- Nanomaterial surface chemistry
- Nanomaterial dustiness
- Nanomaterial porosity
- Nanomaterial pour density
- Nanomaterial photocatalytic activity
- Nanomaterial radical formation potential
- Nanomaterial catalytic activity
- Endpoint summary
- Stability
- Biodegradation
- Bioaccumulation
- Transport and distribution
- Environmental data
- Additional information on environmental fate and behaviour
- Ecotoxicological Summary
- Aquatic toxicity
- Endpoint summary
- Short-term toxicity to fish
- Long-term toxicity to fish
- Short-term toxicity to aquatic invertebrates
- Long-term toxicity to aquatic invertebrates
- Toxicity to aquatic algae and cyanobacteria
- Toxicity to aquatic plants other than algae
- Toxicity to microorganisms
- Endocrine disrupter testing in aquatic vertebrates – in vivo
- Toxicity to other aquatic organisms
- Sediment toxicity
- Terrestrial toxicity
- Biological effects monitoring
- Biotransformation and kinetics
- Additional ecotoxological information
- Toxicological Summary
- Toxicokinetics, metabolism and distribution
- Acute Toxicity
- Irritation / corrosion
- Sensitisation
- Repeated dose toxicity
- Genetic toxicity
- Carcinogenicity
- Toxicity to reproduction
- Specific investigations
- Exposure related observations in humans
- Toxic effects on livestock and pets
- Additional toxicological data
Endpoint summary
Administrative data
Link to relevant study record(s)
Description of key information
Key value for chemical safety assessment
- Bioaccumulation potential:
- no bioaccumulation potential
Additional information
Metabolism
Dimethyl phthalate (DMP) is rapidly cleaved to Monomethyl phthalate (MMP) in the intestinal mucosa by epithelial esterases. The monoester is more rapidly absorbed from the intestine than the corresponding diester [White et al.,1990].
DMP has been found to be completely hydrolyzed to the MMP and to some extend further hydrolyzed to phthalic acid in the receptor fluid of in vitro dermal penentration studies [Hotchkiss and Mint, 1994].
Percutaneous absorption and penentration
Several studies are available. In one study (Russian study, no translation available) the concentrations of DMP and its metabolite MMP in blood, tissues and organs after dermal application to rats were analyzed [Gleiberman et al., 1978]. In addition, the concentration in blood and urine was confirmed with human volunteers. However, the experimental details are not fully transparent, and the results are not representative for percutaneous penetration and absorption. The absorption of 14C-DMP in rats in vivo was determined to be approximately 38% as determined by cumulated urinary excretion for seven days after application [Elsisi et al., 1989].
In vitro data have been published, where 25.5% and 3.5% percutaneous absorption has been found for rat and human skin, respectively [Hotchkiss and Mint, 1994]. It was published recently, that the percutaneous absorption through rat skin in vitro was 26% without and 17% with occlusion after 72 hours. The percutaneous absorption through human skin in vitro was 4% with and without occlusion after 72 hours [Hotchkiss, 1998]. This species difference is well-known and has also been described for DMP [Hotchkiss and Mint, 1994; Scott et al., 1987]. Further in vitro studies [Scott et al., 1987] provided values of 2.5 to 4 μg/cm²/h for absorption of DMP through human epidermis and 40 to 50 μg/cm²/h through rat epidermis. Dermal absorption of DMP in rat was highly solvent dependent, with up to a 10-fold difference between different solvents. Ellison et al. [2020] determined similar values for human skin (dermatoed skin, whole epidermis, dermis and stratum corneum) ranging from 1.2 to 4.1 µg/cm²/h. However, it has to be mentioned that according to Olkowksa (2022), the values obtained in in vitro/ex vivo studies is highly dependent on the model used. The study author determined for example 35.8 µg/cm²/h for the Stat-M membrane model, in contrast to 1.4 µg/cm² for the human XenoSkin H model with DMP.
Following oral administration in rats, the primary metabolites for DMP in urine were the monoester monomethyl phthalate MMP (78%) with some free phthalic acid (14.4%) and unchanged DMP (8.1%) [Albro & Moore, 1974]. Methanol and formaldehyde have been reported as in vivo and in vitro metabolites of DMP [Kozumbo & Rubin, 1991; Surina et al, 1984].
Of note, DMP was highly bioaccessible (>75%) from dust via artificial lung fluids [Kademoglou et al., 2018].
Conclusions
DMP is absorbed via the gastrointestinal tract and via skin. In rats, 6% per day of dermally applied DMP was recovered in urine and faeces over 7 days. In vitro, human epidermis was an order of magnitude less permeable to DMP than rat epidermis. Following absorption, DMP is distributed to multiple organs but rapidly cleared, with no accumulation.
Following oral administration, the main DMP metabolites were the monoester MMP (78%), with free phthalic acid and unchanged DMP comprising the remainder of the eliminated dose. Methanol and formaldehyde have also been identified as metabolites in vivo and in vitro.
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