The fungicide
captafol has been reported as causing
irritant and
allergic contact dermatitis in humans and in guinea pigs. This study investigated the ability of purified
captafol to cause contact sensitization in BALB/c mice. Female mice were pretreated with an
intraperitoneal injection of
cyclophosphamide or saline. Applications of
captafol (18.7 or 37.4 mg/ml),
dinitrofluorobenzene (
DNFB; 5 mg/ml) or
solvent (4:1
acetone:
ethanol mixture) were administered to the shaved abdomen on 2 consecutive days, or on days 1, 2, 8, 15, 22 and 29. Following challenge with
captafol (37.4 mg/ml) or
DNFB (2 mg/ml) on the right ear 6 days after the last induction, ear thickness ratios (right ear/left ear) were significantly larger after challenge in
captafol-induced and
DNFB-induced mice compared to control mice. A slightly larger response was observed with the smaller induction dose level of
captafol and with multiple inductions over the course of a month. The overall maximum response to
captafol was not increased by pretreatment with
cyclophosphamide. Histologically, ears from
captafol-induced and
DNFB-induced mice showed
edema and cellular infiltration. This study demonstrated the ability of
captafol to produce
contact hypersensitivity in the BALB/c mouse.