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Effect of organic solvents on normal human stratum corneum: evaluation by the corneoxenometry bioassay
V Goffin1, C Letawe, G E Piérard
1Belgian SSTC Research Center 5596, Department of Dermatopathology, University of Liège, Belgium.
Background:
Organic solvents alter the stratum corneum structure and barrier function.
Objective:
To measure the effect of various solvents upon human stratum corneum using the ex vivo corneoxenometry bioassay which is a variant of corneosurfametry.
Methods:
Corneoxenometry entails collection of human stratum corneum by cyanoacrylate. The material is immersed in organic solvents for periods ranging from 1 to 120 min. After staining the samples with a toluidine blue-basic fuchsin solution, the color is measured using reflectance colorimetry. Solvent aggressivity to the stratum corneum correlates with the color darkening of the samples.
Results:
The least aggressive solvent was hexane, followed by ethanol, methanol, hexane-ethanol, chloroform, chloroform-methanol and hexane-methanol. The influence of contact time between solvents and the stratum corneum showed a logarithmic pattern which varied according to the solvent.
Conclusion:
Data are in line with previous experiments conducted in vivo and in vitro, thus indicating the predictive value of corneoxenometry. Such a bioassay may avoid hazards of some in vivo human testings.