Correlating the L-929 and Sirc Variants of the In Vitro Agarose Diffusion Method for the Assessment of Cosmetic Product Eye Irritation Potential

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Abstract
The use of the agarose diffusion method (ADM) for screening the eye irritation potential of cosmetic products has been extended to include five previously unreported categories of emulsifier or surfactant-containing cosmetics and toiletries. In this report, the testing of an additional 22 product formulations by the ADM for their cytotoxicity potential in the L-929 mouse fibroblast cell line as well as in the SIRC rabbit corneal cell line is documented. A high degree of correlation has been established between the results obtained in the two cell types (r = 0.991). Those product formulations possessing more aggressive surfactant systems appear to exhibit a larger “zone of lysis” in the ADM assay. Product pH is shown to be one, but not the sole, factor in determining test outcome.