Comparison of in vitro bacterial bioluminescence and tissue culture bioassays and in vivo tests for evaluating acute toxicity of biomaterials

Abstract

The sensitivity of a bacterial bioluminescent acute toxicity test was compared to the sensitivity of the USP mouse safety, rabbit intramuscular implantation, rabbit intracutaneous, mouse systemic injection, and the MEM elution tissue culture tests. A variety of industrial plastics were used to evaluate the comparative sensitivities. Additional tests were conducted on low-density polyethylene containing a range of dibutyltin dichloride or trans-cinnamic acid concentrations. The bacterial bioluminescent test was more sensitive than any of the in vivo acute toxicity tests. The luminescent bacterial test was generally more sensitive than the tissue culture acute toxicity assay. The bacterial bioluminescent test offers a sensitive, rapid, uncomplicated, and inexpensive means for preliminary compatibility evaluation of biomaterials.

The azo dye Disperse Orange 1 induces DNA damage and cytotoxic effects but does not cause ecotoxic effects in Daphnia similis and Vibrio fischeri

“…Since the bioluminescence of V. fischeri is directly linked to its respiratory activity, it provides a good indicator of metabolic activity and has been found to be well correlated with several in vivo toxicity tests [47][48][49][50].…”

Evaluation of toxicity of medical devices using Spirotox and Microtox tests: I. Toxicity of selected toxicants in various diluents

“…4 Recently, some laboratories have shown a significant correlation between in vivo or in vitro toxicity using mammalian cells and an in vitro test using luminescent bacteria-a Microtox test system. 4,5,6 The Microtox test system-luminescent bacteria toxicity test assesses changes in light output from a luminescent bacteria, Vibrio fischeri, as a nonspecific indicator of test substance toxicity. The bacteria produce light via a biochemical process requiring reduced fla-vine mononucleotide, a long-chain aldehyde, molecular oxygen, and bacterial luciferase.…”

The luminescent bacteria toxicity test: Its potential as anin vitroalternative

“…More recently two investigations have focused upon the applicability of the test system to measure the toxicity of medical devices and indicate the potential eye irritancy of personal care and household products. Burton et al (1986) investigated the sensitivity and specificity of the luminescent bacteria toxicity test as compared with the USP mouse safety test, rabbit muscular implantation, mouse systemic injection, and the MEM elution tissue culture test. The samples included industrial plastics (medical devices) and low-density polyethylene containing different concentrations of toxic organics.…”