In Vitro Measure of Ocular Damage and Recovery From Aromatics

Abstract

AbstractAn in vitro alternative to in vivo eye toxicity testing measures the focal length characteristics of the cultured bovine lens in response to potentially toxic chemicals. The validity of this approach was tested by comparing in vitro measures of damage, and recovery from damage, of three aromatics subject to Draize testing. The optical quality of cultured bovine lenses was measured using a scanning laser system consisting of a low-power helium-neon laser, video cameras, and a video frame digitizer. Lenses were exposed to 100% toluene, styrene, and xylene for 30 or 60 min. Lenses were maintained in a culture environment before and after exposure. Damage and recovery measures were based on the time to produce a 100% increase in focal length variability (spherical aberration) or a 50% recovery (decrease) in focal length variability. The results indicate that the in vitro test provides a wider range of end values than in vivo data, making it easier to rank toxicity potential. The data also show that th...