Isothiazolinone

Isothiazolinone is a heterocyclic chemical material. This compound and its derivatives have various applications, as biocides in water-based systems and also in personal care and cosmetic products.

its derivatives:

• Methylisothiazolinone (MIT, MI)
• Chloromethylisothiazolinone (CMIT, CMI, MCI)
• Benzisothiazolinone (BIT)
• Octylisothiazolinone (OIT, OI)
• Dichlorooctylisothiazolinone (DCOIT, DCOI)
• Butylbenzisothiazolinone (BBIT)

Isothiazolinone Chemical and Physical properties

In the table below some of chemical and physical properties of this product are mentioned. All data that is mentioned in this table is gathered from Wikipedia website:

What is Isothiazolinone?

Isothiazolinone is a chemical that is used in wide variety ranges of chemical industries and it acts as an antimicrobial preservative that is generally applied to control microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, and algae. In water-based solutions which is a place for bacterial growth adding this chemical may lead to the prevention of bacterial growth.

In personal care and cosmetic products, this material is used widely  Like sunscreen shampoo lotions and many other products. the aim of using the mentioned chemical in personal care and cosmetic products is to stop and decrease microbial activity that might cause the product to spoil before their expiry date. In daily routines, applied to several chemicals on the skin like personal care and cosmetic products may cause skin sensitization.in conclusion, it is very important to test these chemicals and considered the minimum quantity which may cause risk in the body. its derivatives may cause this skin sensitization. Not only it is important to check their danger for human body but also when they use as other applications in other industries’ risk might be considered. According to some reports, chloromethyl Isothiazolinone or CMI has a greater effect in comparison to  (MTI) or benzisothiazolinone (BIT). And between these 3 derivatives of Isothiazolinone BIT is weaker than others.

Are Isothiazoline and its derivatives Safe?

According to some reports, this compound is an allergic chemical for the skin.

 “The highest level usage allowed level for Isothiazolinone and its derivatives is 0.1% by weight of product as supplied in products which we need to wash them after use and 0.05% for product which there is no need to wash them from the skin.”

The derivatives, methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI), methylisothiazolinone (MI), benzisothiazolinone (BIT), and Octylisothiazolinone (OIT), relating to their mentioned properties like antimicrobial properties, are also widely applied in non-cosmetic materials, such as chemical (industrial) final products, household and industrial detergents, and water-based paints. However, as it mentioned before due to their skin sensitization (with MCI > MI > BIT > OIT), allergic contact dermatitis or ACD is almost observed between users, not only in consumers but also in workers who work in the exposure of this products

Moreover, the use of Isothiazolinones in household detergents like dishwashing and washing-machine liquids, cleaning agents for dental care, and also some other general uses in household detergents, which may cause ACD, is an important issue.

The European governments recently decided to not to allow the manufacturers to use of MCI/MI in leave-on (cosmetic products which are  intended to stay in prolonged contact with the skin) cosmetics (from April 2016 up to now);

Fortunately in the future, the use of MI without any other derivatives will also be banned. With regards to non-cosmetics products, for instance, paints and related chemical (industrial) products, the need to put firm regulations, correct labels on products, and trusty and perfect information on the Material Safety Datasheets (MSDS) is felt.

Also correct learning process to workers who are in exposure of these chemicals is very important. The Environmental Protection Agency’s Reregistration on MI reports that “the agency specified that methylisothiazolinone is highly to very highly toxic” in some studies, the agency added “the risks to workers who are in exposure of this chemical in most conditions are not of concern and short-lived dangers of corrosively can be managed. 

Applications

There are several chemical industries which Isothiazolinone is used for:

Detergent Industry

As mentioned above, Appling the derivatives in the detergent industry may cause skin problems. although the permitted quantity of these compounds is safe some reports showed a clear sensitization to MCI/MI and MI and high-performance liquid chromatography with UV-detection (HPLC-UV) proved the presence of MI in the detergent at a rather high concentration (∼135 ppm).

Some reasons of accumulation of Isothiazolinone derivatives in detergents are :

• Insufficient rinsing
• Film-forming of detergents

Isothiazolinone application in Water treatment process

Microbial scaling is a principle concern in water treatment applications which has an effect on operational conditions and face the operations with problems like microbial corrosion, decreasing the process efficiency like heat transfer efficiency and also system health. Microbial fouling is caused by several types of microorganisms containing aerobic and also anaerobic microorganisms. Bacteria as a major microorganisms in water base solution environments includes Desulfovibrio, Clostridium, filamentous types, and health-related species (Legionella pneumophila). On the other hand Fungal microbial pollution  take place  less frequently, but are important  in air washers applications, papermaking, and in incapacitating of wood cooling towers. Several biocide techniques have been used with success in water treatment applications for several years. These methods contains oxidizers, like chlorine and bromine products, and non-oxidizing biocides, including isothiazolone, and glutaraldehyde.

Shanghai Chemex Isothiazolinone Packing 

packing of chemicals is one of the most important factors in the transportation segment. below, there is a Shanghai Chemex group project for  Isothiazolinone in China. the common packing for this chemical is Drums as you can see below:

References

• Aerts, O., Goossens, A., Lambert, J., & Lepoittevin, J. P. (2017). Contact allergy caused by Isothiazolinone derivatives: an overview of non-cosmetic and unusual cosmetic sources. European Journal of Dermatology, 27(2), 115-122.
• https://www.the-dermatologist.com/content/update-isothiazolinones
• https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1600-0536.1999.tb06013.x
• https://www.naturalcitizen.com/blogs/news/34406979-
• https://www.onepetro.org/conference-paper/NACE-04083
• Williams, T. M. (2004, January). Isothiazolone biocides in water treatment applications. In CORROSION 2004. NACE International.