Liquid/air partition coefficients of six commonly used glycol ethers.

The toxicokinetics of organic solvents depend largely on their tissue solubilities. Liquid/air partition coefficients (pcs) of six commonly used glycol ethers (2-methoxyethanol (ME), 2-ethoxyethanol (EE), 2-isopropoxyethanol (PE), 2-butoxyethanol (BE), 2-ethoxyethyl acetate (EEA), and 1-methoxy-2-propanol (MP] were determined in vitro using a head space technique. The liquids used were physiological saline, human blood, and olive oil. The pcs were calculated after gas chromatographic quantification of the glycol ethers in the air phase. The water-air pcs ranged from 3800 to 36,000, increasing in the order EEA, BE, MP, PE, EE, ME. These values corresponded closely to the blood/air pcs with one exception--EEA could not be detected in the air phase after addition to blood. The oil/air pcs ranged from 530 to 5400, increasing in the order ME, MP, EE, PE, EEA, BE.