Penetration of benzene, toluene and xylenes contained in gasolines through human abdominal skin in vitro.

Few studies are available in literature on the risk for humans from skin exposure to gasolines. This work is focused on the in vitro skin penetration of benzene (carcinogenic substance), toluene and xylenes. We examined three commercial gasolines using the Franz diffusion cells and human abdominal full thickness skin. Gasoline composition was determined using a multi-dimensional gas chromatographic (MDGC) technique. Aromatic compounds into the receptor fluid, consisting of saline solution were quantitated by a gas chromatography technique equipped with a flame ionization detector (GC–FID) and coupled with a headspace-solid phase micro extraction system (HS-SPME).