Abstract
Irritation from the eyes and nose, termed sensory irritation, is the effect mediated by the trigeminal nerves. The effect is quantified by psychophysical methods, by electrophysiological methods or from the reflexively induced effect. The first step in the generation of the irritation response occurs due to interaction between an airborne substance and a protein receptor in the nerve. The classical receptor theory and the tools known from medicinal chemistry can therefore be applied also to the sensory irritation processes. The “linear free energy models” and the “thermodynamic activity” concepts are discussed in depth. Both these methods, if combined with rational test strategies, offer the possibility, in a cost-efficient manner, to give estirnates on effects of nontested substances. The basic biological knowledge on sensory irritation is far behind the knowledge on the exposure concentrations in the indoor environment. This seriously limits the possibility of interpreting the chemical measurements.
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Nielsen, G.D., Hansen, L.F., Alarie, Y. (1992). Irritation of the upper airways. Mechanisms and structure-activity relationships. In: Knöppel, H., Wolkoff, P. (eds) Chemical, Microbiological, Health and Comfort Aspects of Indoor Air Quality — State of the Art in SBS. Eurocourses: Chemical and Environmental Science, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8088-5_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8088-5_8
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