Chemicals that cause skin irritation are known to induce alterations in the structure of keratin, collagen and other dermal proteins. Dermal Irritection® is an in vitro test that mimics these biochemical phenomena.
This test consists of two essential components:
- A membrane disc that permits controlled delivery of the test material to a reagent solution and;
- A reagent solution consisting of a highly organized globulin/protein macromolecular matrix.
Application of an irritant chemical to the membrane disc disrupts the ordered structure of keratin and collagen and results in release of the bound indicator dye. In addition, skin irritants induce changes in the conformation of globular proteins present in the reagent solution. The extent of dye release and protein denaturation can be quantified by measuring changes in the optical density of the reagent solution at 450 nm (OD450).
Comparison of these optical density measurements to those produced by standard chemical irritants permits calculation of an “irritancy score” that has been shown to be directly related to the potential dermal irritancy of the test material. These results are accurate, reliable and produced faster at a fraction of the cost for in vivo assays.