Evaluation of Toxicological Risks of Nail Coatings Containing Acrylate Monomer HEMA

Abstract

Individuals working in nail salons are exposed to 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA). HEMA has been found to have several effects on the skin: skin itching, peeling, redness and allergic contact dermatitis. The purpose of the study was to compare the effects of nail coatings containing HEMA and 2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate (HPMA) on the skin. In this study we explored the irritation properties of HEMA and HPMA containing nail coatings in cell cultures in-vitro and in skin PATCH tests under dermatological control. The cytotoxicity of coatings was tested in BALB/c3T3 and HaCaT cell lines by a neutral red uptake assay. Cytotoxicity was expressed as a concentration-dependent reduction of the uptake of neutral red, compared to the untreated controls. Open patch tests were supervised by a certified dermatologist. Polymerized coating extracts have little effect on Balb/c 3T3 cell viability, while having mild cytotoxic effects on HaCaT keratinocytes. Among two tested samples, extracts of HEMA containing coating exhibited higher cytotoxicity – reduction of keratinocyte viability by 28.29 % in case of undiluted 24 h extract and even by 48.26 % in case of 50 % extract was observed. Coating cytotoxiaty observed on HaCaT showed that the keratinocyte cell line was more sensitive to HEMA than to HPMA containing coating.

Coating Properties of UV Curable Coatings on Natural Nails: Impact Evaluation of 5 Different Acrylate Monomers

“…Summarizing studies from the last 20 years, we found that the most often used ingredient, which can cause these skin reactions, is 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA). These studies showed that compared to the second most used acrylic monomer 2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate (HPMA), HEMA has almost 2 times higher risk of sensitization than HPMA [23]. Our latest research showed that HPMA containing systems are less irritant: cytotoxicity to keratinocyte cell culture was not observed, instead of compositions containing HEMA [23].…”