Characterization and applicability of a cytotoxicity assay determining growth inhibition after a 1-hour treatment with xenobiotics in human cell culture.
A cytotoxicity assay to determine growth inhibition after a 1-hr treatment with xenobiotics in serum-free medium and subsequent re-incubation in serum-containing medium without test chemicals was characterized and optimized for cytotoxicity screening. Our results indicated that after treatment of human fibroblasts with the test chemicals a 44-hr re-incubation period is most suitable for measuring the growth inhibitory effects of a broad spectrum of chemicals. Applying the assay, the activity to inhibit growth by 10% (log IC(10)) correlated with the lipophilicity (specified as octanol-water partition coefficient = log K(ow)) of 19 xenobiotics. The linear regression coefficient was r = 0.91. This close correlation between toxicity and lipophilicity shows that the test, which avoids long-term incubation in serum-containing medium, is suitable for cytotoxicity screening and structure-activity analysis.
Jacobi
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Carl von Ossietzky Universität, Oldenburg, FB 7 and ICBM, Postfach 2503, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany.
Krieger
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