366 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS facts. Let us all work together to build up bigger and more sturdy founda- tions--cos•netic che•nists, bioche•nists, physical che•nists, biologists, derma- tologists, management, advertising copywriters. Let us open all possible channels for free communication. From such communication ideas origi- nate profit comes to all. A SURVEY OF DR. IRVIN H. BLANK'S SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS TUE LITERA'rURE REVIEW COMMITTEE has p•epared the following few summary paragraphs in orde• to acquaint the membership of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists with the work of Dr. Irvin H. Blank, the recipient of the 1958 Special Award of the Society. Dr. Irvin H. Blank has studied the physical and chemical properties of human skin for over twenty years. These properties have been deduced and put into proper focus by Dr. Blank from observations of the reactions of skin with a wide variety of chemicals. The chemicals so studied range from plain water (5) through soap and detergents (2) to "degerming" agents (4) and finally to the very toxic sarin (11). As early as 1939 Blank--while searching for the active etiologic agent of soap in itation--drew attention to the importance of chain length and unsaturation of the fatty acid of the soap in causing irritation during extensive patch testing (1). He later confirmed the differences he sus- pected (3). Armed with the evidence on hydration of the stratum corneum and on the diffusion of water through the skin, Blank (5) argued against the old concept that the lipid film on the cutaneous surface was the major factor in preventing dehydration of the stratum corneum. Instead, he suggested that hydration depended primarily on the relative humidity of the environ- ment. The barrier at or near the base of the stratum corneum allows very little water to reach the cornified epithelium from the underlying lavers. A year later (6) Blank presented further evidence that the barrier does exist in human skin near the base of the stratum corneum. Blank also attributed chapping or "dry skin" to moisture loss from the stratum cor- neum when the relative humidity of the environment was low (5). The concept that flexibility... of cornified epithelium... is obtained with water, not with oils or greases, was further expanded by Blank before the scientific meeting of the Toilet Goods Association in May, 1955 (9). Blank also reported (6) that, although organic solvents remove very little lipid from callus, the solvents so modify the callus that water ex- traction following solvent extraction removes large amounts of hydro-

SURVEY OF DR. IRVIN H. BLANK'S SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS 367 philic material from the horny layer. Using the removal of water-soluble constituents as a measure of skin damage, Blank (8) could demonstrate no difference in the extent of damage between synthetic detergents and coco- nut oil soaps. The role of hydration of the stratum comeurn in the control of the surface bacterial flora was pointed out by Blank and co-workers (14). With the method developed in th}s study and with a serial basin dilution technique Blank and colleagues studied the effectiveness of hexachloro- phene (4, 7) and other antibacterial agents (14). Blank and his collab- orators (10) used the same techniques to show that the aluminum salts have antibacterial action in •itro and in •iro. In 1958 (13), Blank made an attempt to explain the antiperspirant action of aluminum salts. He determined the depth of penetration of aluminum (from aqueous solutions) into excised skin. It was shown that very little aluminum reaches the dermal a•ea even if the stratum corneum and the barrier layer are removed mechanically. The mechanism of antiperspirant action, therefore, does not involve a/tera/ion of the physio- logical activity of the sweat glands by aluminum salts. More recently, Blank has begun a study of the permeability of the skin. Together with Griesemer and Gould, Blank (l l) studied the penetration ofsarin (isopropylmethyl phosphonofluoride) into the skin. By autoradi- ography, the pathway of penetration was shown to be transepidermal, not transfollicular (12). Sarin, an anticholinesterase agent, quickly and in small amounts produces extreme physiological effects when placed on the skin of experimental animals. Late in 1958 (15), Blank and co-workers demonstrated that it is possible to determine the amount of percutaneous penetration of satin in live rabbits quantitatively. This assay (of sarin in the blood stream) permits the precise determination of in vivo penetration rates (amount penetrating per unit time per unit area.) The work of a number of outstanding nominees was considered for the 1958 Special Award Committee. Dr. Blank's contribution to the science of cosmetics was so immediate and beneficial that the Committee was pleased to select him as the recipient. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY (1) Blank, I. H., "Action of Soap on Skin," Atrch. DermatoL and SyphiloL, 39, 811 (1939). (2) Lane, C. G., and Blank, I. H., "Cutaneous Detergents," •. Arm. Med. Atssoc., 118, 804 (1942). -. (3) I.ane, C. G., and Blank, I. H., "Action of Soap on the Skin. IV. Action of a Soap Containing Little or No Irauric or Oleic Acid," Atrch. Dermatol. and Syphilol, 56, 419 (1947). (4) Blank, I. H., and Coolidge, M. H., "Degerming the Cutaneous Surface. II. Hexa- chlorophene (G-11)," y. Invest. Dermatol., 15, 257 (1950). (5) Blank, I. H., "Factors Which Influence the Water Content of the Stratum Comeurn," 7. Invest. Dermatol., 18, 43& (1952). (6) Blank, I. H., "Further Observations on Factors Which Influence the Water Content of the Stratum Comeurn," J. Invest. DermatoL, 21, 259 (1953).