OPTICAL-DAMAGE AND RECOVERY OF THE IN-VITRO BOVINE OCULAR LENS FOR ALCOHOLS, SURFACTANTS, ACETATES, KETONES, AROMATICS, AND SOME CONSUMER PRODUCTS - A REVIEW

This research represents an effort to use abattoir-supplied biological tissue as a screening system to reduce the use of live animals in ocu lar irritancy testing for industries in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic areas. The approach uses an automated lens scanning monit or developed to study the optical performance (focal length and transm ittance) of the cultured ocular lens as a toxicological assay for chem ical agents that are potentially hazardous to the eye. It involves com paring lens sensitivity to a variety of chemical solutions from lists documented by a variety of international research efforts. The work in volves objective measurement of the effect of various substances on th e transmittance and focal characteristics of long-term whole lens cult ures using lenses obtained from abattoir-supplied eyes. The results ar e graded by chemical and compared, when possible, to reported Draize o cular irritance scores, and the results produced by other suggested in vitro alternatives. This work reviews the results obtained using this approach to evaluate the ocular irritancy potential of a variety of a lcohols, surfactants, acetates, ketones, and aromatics. Additional wor k involving commonly used consumer products (contact lens solutions) i s also reviewed.