New MatTek Technical References February 2010

Listed below are the MatTek In Vitro Product Technical References added to the Web site in February 2010. Click on the technical reference TITLE to review full citation information as well as a detailed summary.

• IN VITRO SKIN IRRITATION TESTING: IMPROVING THE SENSITIVITY OF THE EPIDERM SKIN IRRITATION TEST PROTOCOL
  
  SUMMARY:
  This paper details the effort by MatTek scientists to increase the sensitivity of the Skin Irritation Test (SIT) method based on MatTek’s EpiDerm in vitro 3-D human skin tissue equivalent. This effort led to the EpiDerm SIT method being validated by ECVAM as a full replacement for the rabbit skin irritant test in November 2008.
  
  
  
• THE MATTEK STORY — HOW THE THREE Rs PRINCIPLES LED TO 3-D TISSUE SUCCESS!
  
  SUMMARY:
  FRAME, the UK-based Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments, asked MatTek to contribute an article to a special edition of ATLA, FRAME’s scientific journal, commemorating FRAME’s 40th anniversary. FRAME asked MatTek to focus the article on the successful development of our in vitro 3-D tissues, produced from normal (non-transformed) human cells, as replacements for animals in toxicity testing.
  
  
  
• INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY OF PARTHENOLIDE-DEPLETED FEVERFEW (TANACETUM PARTHENIUM).
  
  SUMMARY:
  This study by researchers at Johnson and Johnson demonstrated that MatTek's EpiDerm in vitro 3-D human skin tissue equivalent can be used to measure the effectiveness of a new topical formulation to inhibit TPA-induced release of PGE2 (Prostaglandin E2).