ABSTRACT
This chapter describes several different methods for in vitro skin irritation and corrosion screening using commercially available human skin cell derived cultures ranging from simple monolayer keratinocyte cultures to more complex three dimensional “skin equivalent” models. Skin corrosion and skin irritation due to chemical exposure are important toxicologic concerns relative to the manufacture, transport, and marketing of chemicals and product formulations. Traditionally, animal-test methods have been used to evaluate the more severe forms of skin toxicity with extrapolation of data from the animal method to man. For treatment of the Skin2 cultures, 25 µl of each test material was pipeted, using a positive displacement pi pet, onto 18-mm round glass coverslips. Thick or viscous substances were spread out on the coverslip using the pipet tip so that the material approximated the area of the culture mesh. EpiDerm skin cultures were purchased from the MatTek.
