Immunogenicity of aryl esters of salicylic or acetylsalicylic acid in guinea pigs.

A variety of derivatives of acetylsalicylic and salicylic acid have been investigated for their immunogenic properties in guinea pigs including salicylsalicylic acid (SSA), acetylsalicylsalicylic acid (ASSA), disalicylide (DI), trisalicylide (TRI), acetylsalicylic acid paracetamol ester (ASPE) and acetylsalicylic acid guajacol ester (ASGE). Contact sensitivity could be elicited by the sensitizing agent, however, with acetylsalicylic acid anhydride (ASAN) a more pronounced contact reaction could consistently be observed. Systemic anaphylactic reactions elicited by intravenous injection of N-salicyloyl bovine serum albumin could only be induced by ASAN, DI, TRI and ASSA, whereas SSA, ASPE and ASGE did not induce an anaphylactic state at a comparable dose level. From these results it is anticipated that all aryl esters of acetylsalicylic or salicylic acid are immunogenic when applied intradermally, leading to a N-salicyloyl specific immune response.