Reproductive, teratologic, and mutagenic studies with some polydimethylsiloxanes.

The purpose of these studies was to evaluate the effects of selected polydimethylsiloxanes on reproduction and fetal development in rats and rabbits and to determine the mutagenic potential of one such material in mice. In two separate three-phase studies in rats and rabbits with a 350 centistoke medical grade fluid, the only significant effect noted was an apparent dose-related incidence of in utero mortality at dose levels of 200 and 1,000 mg/kg sc in rats in one study. No evidence of fetotoxicity was obtained in the second study at the same dose levels. The incidence of talipes varus at a sc dose level of 200 mg/kg in rabbits (8.8%) is at or above that expected for control populations. The nonoccurrence of talipes varus at the higher level of 1,000 mg/kg and the absence of this defect in the companion study casts doubt on the significance of this finding. A 7-cs pump fluid was nonteratogenic in rats at oral doses as high as 1,000 mg/kg and was nonmutagenic in ma1e mice at ip doses of 5 and 10 g/kg. A 10-cs fluid was nonteratogenic in rabbits at a dermal dose level of 200 mg/kg.