HOME > BLOG >
New alternative methods for toxicity testing fully accepted by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)!

New alternative methods for toxicity testing fully accepted by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)!

Logo OECD

In June OECD announced the publication of new guidelines for alternative testing. One of them is OECD TG 498 – In vitro Phototoxicity – Reconstructed Human Epidermis Phototoxicity test method. The test uses Reconstructed Human Epidermis (RHE) – multilayered in vitro model , built from human skin cells. The model resembles human epidermis when it comes to physiological and biochemical functions and allows to predict phototoxicity of chemical compounds. Phototoxic (or photoirritant) compound reveals its deleterious features after being applied on skin and exposed to light. The new method is closer to the conditions of in vivo exposure (tested on animals) than another OECD approved method, based on murine cells – and at the same time much more in line with 3R rule.