Development of micellar reactive oxygen species assay for photosafety evaluation of poorly water-soluble chemicals.

A reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay was previously developed for photosafety assessment; however, the phototoxic potential of some chemicals cannot be evaluated because of their limited aqueous solubility. The present study was undertaken to develop a new micellar ROS (mROS) assay system for poorly water-soluble chemicals using a micellar solution of 0.5% (v/v) Tween 20 for solubility enhancement. In repeated mROS assay, intra- and inter-day precisions (coefficient of variation) were found to be below 11%, and the Z'-factors for singlet oxygen and superoxide suggested a large separation band between positive and negative standards. The ROS and mROS assays were applied to 65 phototoxins and 18 non-phototoxic compounds for comparative purposes. Of all 83 chemicals, 25 were unevaluable in the ROS assay due to poor solubility, but only 2 were in the mROS assay. Upon mROS assay on these model chemicals, the individual specificity was 76.5%, and the positive and negative predictivities were found to be 93.9% and 86.7%, respectively. The mROS assay provided 2 false negative predictions, although negative predictivity for the ROS assay was found to be 100%. Considering the pros and cons of these assays, strategic combined use of the ROS and mROS assays might be efficacious for reliable photosafety assessment with high applicability and predictivity.

Seto Y ，Kato M ，Yamada S ，Onoue S ... -  《-》

Non-animal photosafety assessment approaches for cosmetics based on the photochemical and photobiochemical properties.

The main purpose of the present study was to establish a non-animal photosafety assessment approach for cosmetics using in vitro photochemical and photobiochemical screening systems. Fifty-one cosmetics, pharmaceutics and other chemicals were selected as model chemicals on the basis of animal and/or clinical photosafety information. The model chemicals were assessed in terms of photochemical properties by UV/VIS spectral analysis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay and 3T3 neutral red uptake phototoxicity testing (3T3 NRU PT). Most phototoxins exhibited potent UV/VIS absorption with molar extinction coefficients of over 1000M(-1)cm(-1), although false-negative prediction occurred for 2 cosmetic phototoxins owing to weak UV/VIS absorption. Among all the cosmetic ingredients, ca. 42% of tested chemicals were non-testable in the ROS assay because of low water solubility; thereby, micellar ROS (mROS) assay using a solubilizing surfactant was employed for follow-up screening. Upon combination use of ROS and mROS assays, the individual specificity was 88.2%, and the positive and negative predictivities were estimated to be 94.4% and 100%, respectively. In the 3T3 NRU PT, 3 cosmetics and 4 drugs were incorrectly predicted not to be phototoxic, although some of them were typical photoallergens. Thus, these in vitro screening systems individually provide false predictions; however, a systematic tiered approach using these assays could provide reliable photosafety assessment without any false-negatives. The combined use of in vitro assays might enable simple and fast non-animal photosafety evaluation of cosmetic ingredients.

Onoue S ，Suzuki G ，Kato M ，Hirota M ，Nishida H ，Kitagaki M ，Kouzuki H ，Yamada S ... -  《-》

Development of an albuminous reactive oxygen species assay for photosafety evaluation under experimental biomimetic conditions.

The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from an ultraviolet (UV)-exposed chemical can be an experimental indicator of phototoxic potential. The aim of the present study was to develop a new ROS assay using serum albumin to provide photosafety assessment under experimental biomimetic conditions. To assess assay robustness, a validation study on an albuminous ROS (aROS) assay was conducted with a focus on intra- and inter-day precisions and Z'-factor reflecting both the assay signal-to-noise ratio and variation associated with signal measurements. In the aROS assay on quinine HCl (200 μM), a typical phototoxic drug, both intra- and inter-day precisions (coefficient of variation; CV) were found to be below 4%, and the Z'-factors for singlet oxygen and superoxide suggested a large separation band between samples and blank signals. To evaluate the prediction capacity, the aROS and ROS assays were applied to 21 phototoxins and 10 non-phototoxic chemicals. Upon aROS assay on these model chemicals, the individual specificity was 100%, and the positive and negative predictivities were found to be 100% and 81.8%, respectively. The aROS assay can be employed for poorly soluble chemicals for which the ROS assay is unavailable. Comparing the ROS assay data, there seemed to be a photochemical transition of some chemicals in albuminous solution. A molecular interaction between albumin and chemical was also assessed by UV and fluorescent spectroscopic analyses, and the results suggested the limited relationship between the albumin-chemical interaction and the photochemical change. The aROS assay may allow photosafety assessment of new drug entities with a wide range of applicability partly under experimental biomimetic conditions.

Onoue S ，Kato M ，Yamada S 《-》

Intra-/inter-laboratory validation study on reactive oxygen species assay for chemical photosafety evaluation using two different solar simulators.

A previous multi-center validation study demonstrated high transferability and reliability of reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay for photosafety evaluation. The present validation study was undertaken to verify further the applicability of different solar simulators and assay performance. In 7 participating laboratories, 2 standards and 42 coded chemicals, including 23 phototoxins and 19 non-phototoxic drugs/chemicals, were assessed by the ROS assay using two different solar simulators (Atlas Suntest CPS series, 3 labs; and Seric SXL-2500V2, 4 labs). Irradiation conditions could be optimized using quinine and sulisobenzone as positive and negative standards to offer consistent assay outcomes. In both solar simulators, the intra- and inter-day precisions (coefficient of variation; CV) for quinine were found to be below 10%. The inter-laboratory CV for quinine averaged 15.4% (Atlas Suntest CPS) and 13.2% (Seric SXL-2500V2) for singlet oxygen and 17.0% (Atlas Suntest CPS) and 7.1% (Seric SXL-2500V2) for superoxide, suggesting high inter-laboratory reproducibility even though different solar simulators were employed for the ROS assay. In the ROS assay on 42 coded chemicals, some chemicals (ca. 19-29%) were unevaluable because of limited solubility and spectral interference. Although several false positives appeared with positive predictivity of ca. 76-92% (Atlas Suntest CPS) and ca. 75-84% (Seric SXL-2500V2), there were no false negative predictions in both solar simulators. A multi-center validation study on the ROS assay demonstrated satisfactory transferability, accuracy, precision, and predictivity, as well as the availability of other solar simulators.

Onoue S ，Hosoi K ，Toda T ，Takagi H ，Osaki N ，Matsumoto Y ，Kawakami S ，Wakuri S ，Iwase Y ，Yamamoto T ，Nakamura K ，Ohno Y ，Kojima H ... -  《-》

Comparative study on prediction performance of photosafety testing tools on photoallergens.

Several testing methods have been established to identify potential phototoxins. The present study was undertaken to clarify the predictive ability of in vitro photosafety assays for photoallergenicity. On the basis of animal and/or clinical photosafety information, 23 photoallergens and 7 non-phototoxic/non-photoallergenic chemicals were selected and subjected to UV/VIS spectral analysis, reactive oxygen species (ROS)/micellar ROS (mROS) assays, and 3T3 neutral red uptake phototoxicity testing (3T3 NRU PT). Of the photoallergens tested, ca. 96% of chemicals had intense UV/VIS absorption with a molar extinction coefficient of over 1000 M(-1) cm(-1), and false-positive predictions were made for 3 non-photoallergenic chemicals. In the ROS assay, all photoallergens were found to be potent ROS generators under exposure to simulated sunlight. In the photosafety prediction based on the ROS assay, the individual specificity was 85.7%, and the positive predictivity and negative predictivity were found to be 95.8% and 100%, respectively. Most of the photoirritant chemicals were correctly identified by the 3T3 NRU PT; however, it provided false predictions for ca. 48% of photoallergens. The orders of sensitivity and specificity for photoallergenicity prediction were estimated to be: [sensitivity] ROS assay>UV/VIS absorption ≫ 3T3 NRU PT, and [specificity] 3T3 NRU PT>ROS assay ≫ UV/VIS absorption. Thus, photochemical assays, in particular the ROS assay, can be used for assessment of photoallergenicity, although there were some false-positive predictions.

Onoue S ，Ohtake H ，Suzuki G ，Seto Y ，Nishida H ，Hirota M ，Ashikaga T ，Kouzuki H ... -  《-》