J.IIC-CG VOLUME 18 (1993)
Electrophoretic Analysis of the Effect of Selected Fumigants on Collagenase-protease Digestibility of Skin Proteins
Several fumigants were examined using the SDS-PAGE technique to determine their effects on the protease digestibility of proteins in mammalian skin samples. The fumigants examined (naphthalene, paradichlorobenzene, dichlorvos, carbon disulfide, carbon tetrachloride and ethylene dichloride) represent pesticides that historically have been used in storage units of museum collections. This study reports the effects of each fumigant on the susceptibility of skin proteins to collagenase-protease digestion during the course of six months of continuous fumigation. It was demonstrated that each fumigant examined increased the susceptibility of skin samples to proteolysis, indicating that fumigant treatment enhances skin protein degradation. As skin protein digestibility increased as the period of exposure to the fumigant increased, it appears that degradation attributed to fumigation treatment is progressive and probably cumulative.
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