THE EFFECTS OF KNOWN EYE IRRITANTS ON THE SKINETHIC™ AND EPIOCULAR™ MODELS OF CORNEAL EPITHELIUM.

• TR Number: 253
• Authors: Jones, P., King, A. and Fentem, J. Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre., Unilever Colworth Laboratory, Colworth House, Sharnbrook, Bedford, MK44 1LQ, UK.

Information in the literature suggests that the most promising developments in in vitro ocular irritation assays are those involving 3-dimensional (3-D) models of the cornea1-5. In this study, the effects of materials of known ocular irritancy on two commercial models of corneal epithelium, the SkinEthic™ human corneal epithelium (HCE) and the EpiOcular™ model (Mattek) were examined. Both models consist of a multilayered, 3-D, non-keratinised tissue grown on filter inserts at the air/liquid interface. The SkinEthic™ HCE is prepared from on immortalised human corneal epithelial cell line, whereas EpiOcular™ uses primary human keratinocytes. Eight test materials of known ocular irritancy (three slight, two mild and three severe irritants) were tested using both models. The endpoint used was that of cytotoxicity measured using an MTT assay.