Rate of Liberation of Acid by ββ′-Dichlorodiethyl Sulphide and its Analogues in its Relation to the “Acid” Theory of Skin Vesication

Abstract

THE theory that the intracellular liberation of acid is the effective agent in producing vesication by fifi'-dichlorodiethyl sulphide (described as DES throughout this report) has received support by E. K. Two ideas seem to be involved, (a) that owing to its ready lipoid solubility, DES easily reaches the inside of the cell, and (b) that in the cell, DES splits off acid at a favourable rate for the production of pathological change. If the theory is correct, analogous lipoid-soluble substances which split off acid either at the same rate or faster than DES should be vesicant, and conversely analogous substances, which split off acid much slower than DES should be either non-vesicant or very much less vesicant than DES. The test of the theory therefore depends upon an investigation of the rate at which acid is split off from DES and analogous compounds under conditions approximating as nearly as pofsible to the conditions under which DES would break down in the body cell.