[An automated in vitro toxicity test of 25 chemicals]

A computer controlled bench-top analyser was used to establish an automated in vitro-cytotoxicity test. It is based on the continuous monitoring of growth of Salmonella typhimurium TA 98 and TA 100 (strains that are also employed in the classical Ames test (1) for mutagenicity screening) under the influence of the toxic compounds. With this method we can quantify general cytotoxicity and in addition, some questions concerning the mechanism of the toxic influence on the test organisms can be answered. Its simplicity and reliability as well as the good correlation with in vivo data make the new test system suitable for pre-screening the toxicity of a large number of compounds within short time.