Isolated Chicken Eye Test Method for Identifying i) Chemicals Inducing Serious Eye Damage and ii) Chemicals Not Requiring Classification for Eye Irritation or Serious Eye Damage
The Isolated Chicken Eye (ICE) test method is an in vitro test method that can be used to classify substances as causing serious eye damagae (UN GHS Category 1) or as not requiring classification (UN GHS No catgory). The ICE method uses eyes collected from chickens obtained from slaughterhouses where they are killed for human consumption, thus eliminating the need for laboratory animals. The eye is enucleated and mounted in an eye holder with the cornea positioned horizontally. The test substance and negative/positive controls are applied to the cornea. Toxic effects to the cornea are measured by a qualitative assessment of opacity, a qualitative assessment of damage to epithelium based on fluorescein retention, a quantitative measurement of increased thickness (swelling), and a qualitative evaluation of macroscopic morphological damage to the surface. The endpoints are evaluated separately to generate an ICE class for each endpoint, which are then combined to generate an Irritancy Classification for each test substance. Optionally, histopathology of the eye can be evaluated to improve the predictivity of the test for chemicals causing serious eye damage.
