Copper and its alloys are subject to chemical reactions on exposure to environmental or physiological factors, whereby products are potentially generated which become diffusible through mammalian skin. The chemistry of oxidation is reviewed as well as the factors contributing to corrosion. Skin exudates (sweat and sebum) can react with metal surfaces they come in contact with, but even in the healthy organism their composition is variable, as a function of physical, pharmacological and environmental conditions, gender, age, sweat rate or body site. This overview addresses sweat and sebum composition, and discusses components which determine the skin’s corrosive action: chloride ion, low-molecular-weight acids and amino acids in sweat, and fatty acids in sebum, which hold the potential to solubilize copper-containing metal objects. These components can form copper salts and soaps whose molecular characteristics (size and polarity) will determine the rate and route of cutaneous penetration.

Keywords:
Copper alloys, Corrosion, Oxidation, Chlorine, Skin, Sweat, Sebum, Intrauterine devices
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© 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel
2004
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