phototoxicadj.
/ˌfəʊtəʊˈtɒksɪk/, U.S. /ˈˌfoʊdoʊˈtɑksɪk/ Medicine and Biology.
Of, relating to, of the nature of, or causing phototoxicity; becoming toxic after reaction with light.
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phototoxic1931
1931 Lancet 28 Nov. 1188/2 This may explain the great rarity of cutaneous cancer in negroes, in whom pigmentation prevents absorption of the luminous rays and photo-toxic phenomena.
1942 S. Epstein in Jrnl. Investigative Dermatol. 5 290 I propose the term ‘phototoxicity’ for the primary, non-allergic photosensitivity, and ‘phototoxic reaction’ for the effect produced by this mechanism... Phototoxic reactions apply indiscriminately to all individuals.
1976 Arch. Dermatol. 112 327/1 The duration of methoxsalen's phototoxic potentiality, after its application to skin, varied in direct proportion to chemical concentration.
1988 Environ. Sci. Technol. 22 358/3 Naturally occurring thiophenes..display a broad range of phototoxic effects toward a variety of organisms.
1993 Sci. Amer. Dec. 29 (advt.) The new filter would have to be..well tolerated (neither toxic, phototoxic nor an irritant), odorless, non-staining, and affordable.
2005 Chemosphere 58 646/2 Tires contain several PAH [= polyaromatic hydrocarbon] species that are phototoxic, for instance fluoranthene and pyrene.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1931