The magazine Science Daily reports on a recent study published in Chemical Research and Toxicology that focuses on the development of a way to determine whether chemicals in consumer products and work places may cause skin allergies. The method does not involve animal testing; and it is fast, simple, and inexpensive.

Dermatitis occurs when chemicals in consumer products bond to proteins in the skin, causing redness, itching, and other symptoms by aggravating the immune system. Public sentiment against the use of animals to test soaps, shampoos, and other products has led to existing chemical tests which use substances like glutathione to mimic skin proteins. However, these tests are not useful for detecting the early stages of skin sensitization.

Itai Chipinda and colleagues developed a test using nitrobensenethiol as a stand-in for skin protein. This chemical was used on twenty chemicals known to cause skin irritation and produced a positive result each time; negative results occurred when testing substances that don't usually product skin sensitization.

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