On September 17th, 2016 Marisa Meloni, CEO of VitroScreen was invited to give a lecture on Preservatives and Eyedrops: How to evaluate and predict their effects at the “XXII Curso Internacional: Córnea y Cirugía Refractiva”organized by the Mexican Association of Oftalmology.
Dr Meloni gave a preliminary overview on the clinical and infraclinical effects of preservatives on the ocular surface. The key points highlighted in her lecture, based on historical and published data and testing protocols established in VitroScreen R&D Department, can be summarized as follows:
- All preservatives activate an inflammatory process in 3D Human Corneal Epithelium after 24 hours (acute exposure);
- All preservatives reduce the cellular visibility after 72 hours (repeated application);
- All preservatives (including the so called “soft” or “vanishing” preservatives) lead to histological disruptions of the corneal epithelian barrier;
- Repeated application better discriminates potential long term irritant from non irritant (ABAK);
- Occludin gene expression is an early biomarker that correlates to superficial damage compared to the MTT cytotoxicity.
The MEA approach carried out at VitroScreen confirms that by adopting a sensitive and relevant in vitro experimental model with different exposures it is possible to underline toxicity mechanisms thus allowing to distinguish classes of preservatives and to better assess products irritation potential.