PubMed · 9074880
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C Potera. 1997. Tracking toxicants.. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.9710548
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Promotion of animal welfare is an underlying and laudable goal for toxicologists and there is good reason to adopt practical, focused, investigative approaches towards this aim. Pharmaceutical regulatory toxicology can be subdivided into the areas of systemic (target organ), reproductive, genetic and topical toxicology, as well as immunotoxicology and oncology. These areas can be assessed for prioritisation as to where adoption of measures to promote any or all of the 3 Rs (reduction, replacement, refinement) would lead to the most tangible benefit for animals. These measures can range, for example, from replacement of animal experimentation with alternative in vitro techniques, to adoption of regulatory protocols that reduce the number of animals required. This paper is confined to consideration of in vitro technology in terms of reducing/replacing laboratory animal use, and a suggested list of criteria for prioritisation is potential for:- Regulatory acceptability Reducing development cost Reducing animal numbers Promoting welfare aspects Elucidating toxic mechanisms Usefulness in compound selection Advancing the science of toxicology Clear messages emerge from such an analysis which could influence prioritisation of the application of in vitro toxicology from the standpoints of animal welfare, feasibility and resources.
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The Spirostomum ambiguum toxicity test has been intensively studied in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Warsaw University of Medicine for the last 5 years. The purpose of the present work was to develop and evaluate a miniaturized microplate version of the test, called the Spirotox test, and to estimate the toxicity of selected inorganic compounds to the Spirostomum ambiguum. The test was carried out in conventional 24-well (6 x 4) polystyrene multiwell plate. Preliminary test was one control and 11 toxicant concentrations with two duplicates. Definitive test was one control and five toxicant concentrations with three duplicates per concentration. Dilution of the sample was made directly in the plate. Toxicity series of heavy metals based on 24-h LC50 may be established as follows: Cu > Ag > Hg > Cr > Cd > Zn > Ni > Pb > Co > Mn. The series may be divided into four classes: extremely toxic: below 0.1 ppm (Cu, Ag, Hg); very toxic: 0.1-1.0 ppm (Cr, Cd, Zn, Ni); toxic: 1.0-10 ppm (Pb, Co); and low toxic: above 10 ppm (Mn). Anions were much less toxic to S. ambiguum than cations. Using the same classification, only cyanide (CN) was toxic, other anions were low toxic. Toxicity series based on 24-h LC50 may be established as follows: CN > SeO3 > Cr2O7 > NO2 > S2O3 >WO4 > BO3.