6 Final Report on the Safety Assessment of Vinyl Acetate/Crotonic Acid Copolymer

Final Report on the Safety Assessment of Polyvinyl Acetate

Polyvinyl Acetate, as used in cosmetic products, is a latex emulsion known as the homopolymer of ethenyl acetate. It is used as a binder, emulsion stabilizer, and hair fixative at concentrations less than 25%. Polyvinyl Acetate was nonmutagenic in the Ames assay, with and without activation, and in the Chinese Hamster fibroblast cell assay. Carcinogenic implantation studies using mice gave negative results. It is concluded that the data available are insufficient to support the safety of Polyvinyl Acetate as currently used in cosmetic products. The types of data needed to complete the safety evaluation are listed in the report.

2 Final Report on the Safety Assessment of Shellac

Cosmetic-grade Shellac is a mixture of hydroxyaliphatic and alicyclic acids and their polyesters. It is used in cosmetic formulations at concentrations up to 25%.

Shellac had an LD50 of greater than 5 g/kg in rats. Results of acute animal toxicity studies using cosmetic formulations containing up to 6% Shellac indicated no adverse effects upon oral (rats), dermal (rabbits), ocular (rabbits), and respiratory tract (rabbits) exposure. Chronic inhalation of a Shellac hair spray formulation by rabbits produced no observable toxicity. No treatment-related toxic or pathologic effects were observed when concentrations of Shellac up to 10,000 ppm were fed to rats in a subchronic study.

Ames' mutagenicity assays, with and without metabolic activation, were negative.

Clinical assessment of safety of cosmetic formulations containing up to 6% Shellac indicated no measurable irritation and absence of sensitization and photosensitization.

It is concluded that cosmetic-grade Shellac is safe for use in cosmetic formulations at concentrations up to 6%, the maximum concentration tested.

Influence of unsaturated carbonic acids on hemocompatibility and cytotoxicity of poly-vinylacetate based co-polymers

The aim of this study was to investigate hemocompatibility and cytotoxicity properties of synthetic polymer coatings containing various unsaturated carbonic acids with vinylacetate. Co-polymers of vinylacetate and crotonic acid (CA), maleic acid (MA), and itaconic acid (IA) were made. The materials were characterized in terms of their adhesion to metal supports (titanium and stainless steel) as well as hemocompatibility (% hemolysis, wettability, erythrocyte aggregation, hemoglobin content, thrombocyte count and lipid peroxidation levels) and cytotoxicity (human endothelial cell activity in vitro and chromosome aberrations, bone marrow proliferation and cell ploidy in rats). Co-polymers of unsaturated carbonic acids with vinylacetate exhibited good hemocompatibility properties, as opposed to vinylacetate homopolymer for which substantial levels of hemolysis were observed. By coating the metal supports with co-polymers the cytotoxic effects associated with the bare metal samples were markedly reduced. MA samples showed excellent hemocompatibility and no cytotoxicity, yet they lacked good adhesion properties to metal substrate, probably due to high water content. CA samples, having the highest density of carboxylic groups among the samples under investigation, showed increased bone marrow proliferation activity and cell ploidy in rats, as compared to controls. The most promising results in the present study were obtained for the samples with IA, which showed good adhesion to metal substrates, good hemocompatibility and low cytotoxicity. Thus, co-polymers of vinylacetate and IA rich in carboxylic groups are promising materials for the design of novel drug-eluting stents.

Final report on the safety assessment of Acrylates Copolymer and 33 related cosmetic ingredients

Ingredients in the Acrylates Copolymer group all contain the monomers acrylic acid or methacrylic acid or one of their salts or esters. These ingredients are considered similar in that they are uniformly produced in chemical reactions that leave very little residual monomer. Although residual acrylic acid may be as high as 1500 ppm, typical levels are 10 to 1000 ppm. There is sufficient odor if residual monomers are present to cause producers to keep levels as low as possible. These ingredients function in cosmetics as binders, film formers, hair fixatives, suspending agents, viscosity-increasing agents, and emulsion stabilizers. Concentrations may be as high as 25% if used as a binder, film former, or fixative; or as low as 0.5% if used as a viscosity-increasing agent, suspending agent, or emulsion stabilizer. These very large polymers exhibit little toxicity. In rabbits and guinea pigs, Acrylates Copolymer did produce irritation, but no evidence of sensitization was found. The principle concern regarding the use of these polymer ingredients is the presence of toxic residual monomers. In particular, although 2-ethylhexyl acrylate was not genotoxic, it was carcinogenic when applied at a concentration of 21% to the skin of C3H mice. Lower concentrations (2.5%) and stop-dose studies at high concentrations (43%) were not carcinogenic. 2-Ethylhexyl acrylate was not carcinogenic in studies using NMRI mice. Whether an increase in carcinogenesis was seen or not, there was evidence of severe dermal irritation in these 2-ethylhexyl acrylate studies. Another concern regarding residual monomers was inhalation toxicity. Although the acrylic acid monomer is a nasal irritant, exposure to the monomer from use of these polymers in cosmetic formulations would always be less than the established occupational exposure limits for nasal irritation. Although there appears to be a huge variation in the mix of monomers used in the synthesis of these polymers, they are similar in that the polymers, except for dermal irritation, are not significantly toxic, and residual monomer levels are kept as low as possible. Although the monomers may be toxic, the levels that would be found in cosmetic formulations are not considered to present a safety risk. Accordingly, these Acrylate Copolymers are considered safe for use in cosmetic formulations when formulated to avoid irritation.