title: Comparison of three in vitro cytotoxicity assays for estimating surfactant ocular irritation.
abstract: Three in vitro cytotoxicity assays [neutral red uptake assay (NRU), MTT test and total protein content determination (TPC)] were analysed to assess their value for predicting the ocular irritancy potential of 20 surfactants. For each test, three established cell lines (SIRC rabbit corneal cells, Balb/c 3T3 and L929 mouse fibroblasts) were used. The concentration that induced 50% inhibition relative to controls (IC(50)) was calculated for each test, cell line and chemical. In vivo ocular irritancy data were compared with in vitro results. None of these assays provided a marked correlation of surfactant ocular irritation (Spearman or Pearson correlation coefficient lower than 0.65, P < 0.01 and moderate agreement with Kappa test). An IC(50) threshold of 700 mug/ml was set to discriminate between surfactant irritation and non-irritation. Three compounds were detected as false negatives (CHAPS, CHAPSO and sodium taurocholate), and two as false positives (Triton X155 and Brij 35).
authors.affiliation: Agence du Médicament, 14 rue Ecole de Pharmacie, 34000 Montpellier, France; Laboratoire de Toxicologie, Faculté de Pharmacie, Avenue C. Flahault, 34060 Montpellier cedex, France.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vian
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vincent
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Maurin
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fabre
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Giroux
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Cano