Prediction of eye irritation potential of surfactants using the SIRC-NRU cytotoxicity test

By Roguet, R. - Dossou, K.G. - Rougier, A.

The SIRC cell line, derived from rabbit cornea was used to assess the cytotoxicity of a wide range of surfactants. The measurement of their effect on the cell membrane, the critical target of surfactants, has been performed using the neutral red uptake (NRU) bioassay. The results obtained for 30 surfactants have been correlated with in vivo data (Draize test) obtained from a data bank. The cytotoxicity of the tested surfactants ranks as follows: cationic > anionic > amphoteric > non-ionic. A good correlation (r = 0.80 and p < 10-4) was obtained. In the case of non-ionic surfactants (n = 11) a higher correlation with in vivo data was obtained (r = 0.92 p < 10-4), showing that the SIRC-NRU test is particularly useful for the evaluation of non-irritants or weak irritants currently used in cosmetic formulations. The results demonstrated that this easily performed method leads to few false negatives (6%) and thus merits its inclusion in a battery of screening tests for predicting eye irritancy without the use of animals.