Archive
Modernization of EPA “6-Pack” of Acute Toxicity Tests Continues
July 27, 2018The US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) continues to drive significant efforts in the United States to modernize the battery of acute toxicity tests classically known as the “6-pack.” Learn More....
Defined Approaches for EPA Testing
July 26, 2018The US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) continues to drive significant efforts in the United States to modernize the battery of acute toxicity tests classically known as the “6-pack.” Known for many years as an “all in vivo” testing strategy for products registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the 6-pack was revised in 2015 to include non-animal (in vitro/ex vivo) test methods for classification and labeling for Eye Irritation, both for commonly used household cleaning products...
Tiered In Vitro Testing Strategy For Assessing The Ocular and Dermal Irritation/Corrosion Potential of Pharmaceutical Compounds
July 23, 2018Read our latest publication with Bristol-Myers Squibb regarding a tiered testing strategy for occupational hazards of pharmaceutical intermediates now published in the Cutaneous and Ocular Toxicology Journal. Irritation reactions are a frequently reported occupational illness. The potential adverse effects of pharmaceutical compounds (PCs) on employees' eyes and skin can now be assessed using validated in vitro methods. Our overall aim is to reduce animal testing by replacing the historically utilized in vivo test methods with validated in vitro test methods which accurately determine the ocular...
Video: Bovine Corneal Opacity & Permeability Test – Spanish
October 16, 2017This 13- minute training video demonstrates how to perform the BCOP assay according to the Test Guidelines set forth for the assay by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD TG 437). The video focuses on steps that are critical to the success of the assay such as handling of the isolated cornea and removal of the test material from the cornea at the conclusion of the exposure time. ...
Webinar: How GLPs Enhance the Quality of Regulated and Non-Regulated Toxicology
October 18, 2016This one-hour webinar, led by IIVS Director of Quality and Compliance, introduces some of the concepts of Good Laboratory Practices (GLPs) designed to promote study and data integrity within an in vitro toxicology framework. Applying these concepts within your own laboratory should aid in production of robust, repeatable studies. View Slides...
Ocular Irritection (OECD 496)
August 24, 2016The Ocular Irritection Assay is an in chemico eye irritation assay that detects, ranks, and predicts the corneal irritation potential of a test material. The assay assesses changes to the reagent solution (containing proteins, glycoproteins, lipids), which mimics the denaturation and disruption that occurs in corneal proteins in vivo.The test article is applied to a membrane disc that controls the delivery to the reagent solution. The changes in the protein structure are measured by optical density readings in the reagent...
Short Time Exposure (STE, OECD 491)
August 24, 2016The Short Time Exposure (STE) assay, developed by Kao Corporation (Japan), is an in vitro assay used to assess acute eye irritation potential as an alternative to the traditional in vivo Draize test. The test method evaluates the cytotoxicity induced by a series of test chemical dilutions in a monolayer of rabbit corneal fibroblasts (Statens Seruminstitut Rabbit Cornea – SIRC) after a single five-minute exposure. Two prediction models were initially developed for the STE assay — one categorizes the test material as...
Assessing Eye Sting-NociOcular Assay
August 24, 2016Many personal care and cosmetic products accidentally contact the eye, which is very sensitive to numerous compounds that would otherwise be benign when applied to the skin. Due to the pain and stinging that is perceived, it is important for manufacturers of these products to be aware of the potential pain perceived should eye contact occur. Due to the subjective nature of the unpleasant perception, animal models are inconclusive and may even be prohibited due regulations. Fortunately, IIVS has developed a...
Assessing Corneal Recovery
August 24, 2016Corneal recovery is a key property of ocular irritation classification schemes used in the regulatory arena. However, no current validated non-animal ocular irritation test methods or prediction tools are able to predict corneal recovery in a manner consistent with the animal tests historically employed. Whereas some efforts have been made to demonstrate recovery with in vitro or ex vivo corneal models, the current state of these technologies do not support demonstration of recovery of the corneal stromal elements, which are...
Eye Irritation Test using Reconstructed Human Corneal Epithelium (RhCE) Models (EIT, OECD 492)
August 24, 2016The Eye Irritation Test (EIT) is an OECD-approved in vitro non-animal test method for identifying chemicals and mixtures that may be irritating to the corneal epithelium. The test method utilizes an in vitro reconstructed human corneal epithelium (RhCE) model (EpiOcular™, MatTek Corp. or HCE, SkinEthic™), in an acute exposure assay to support international regulatory labeling requirements, according to the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (UN GHS). The Eye Irritation Test can be used to support...