Use of primary rabbit cornea cells to replace the Draize rabbit eye irritancy test

The Draize ocular irritancy test was compared with cytotoxicity determined from colony forming ability in cells freshly isolated from rabbit cornea (RC). The primary RC cells grew well and cloning efficiency ranged between 80 and 100% during early passages. We used 52 chemicals used in consumer products as test agents. There was a close correlation between the cytotoxicity in RC cells in vitro and the Draize score in vivo in response to the 52 chemicals. With a few exceptions, the cationic detergents appeared to be more toxic than the anionic or nonionic compounds tested. These data suggest that the cytotoxicity test in vitro using primary RC cells may be useful as a substitute for the Draize eye irritancy test.