Acute Dermal Irritation/Corrosion
The purpose of conducting acute dermal irritation or corrosion is to determine whether a substance can be categorized as a sample that cause mild irritation, an irritant or a corrosive agent or no category at all. The albino rabbit is the preferable laboratory animal used in acute dermal irritation /corrosion. Three rabbits are needed for the conduct of acute dermal irritation or corrosion. An initial test using 1 rabbit shall be conducted first for animal welfare consideration. A day prior to the testing fur on the dorsal portion of the rabbit shall be remove, the shaved area should be sufficient enough to accommodate 3 patches, each patch has an area of 6 cm square.
During the conduct of the test a sample will be applied on an area about 6 cm square in size for 3 minutes it should be held in contact with the skin by means of a suitable patch /dressing. After 3 minutes the patch/ dressing is removed and then the area is observed. If no serous reaction is observed, a second patch is applied in a different location and removed after an hour. If there are no significant lesion and to the assessment of the investigator exposure to the sample does not violate any animal welfare restriction a third patch is applied in a different area and remove after 4 hours. The area is then observed for 14 days and graded accordingly. If the sample base on the initial test is not corrosive a conformity test is conducted on 2 rabbits. Each rabbit will receive one patch that will be remove after 4 hours. The animal will then be observed for 14 days for any lesion or changes on the skin base on this observation the animal will be categorized base on Globally Harmonised system.
