The skin sensitization test developed by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has been adopted as the guidelines of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the ministry said Friday. Korea’s skin sensitization test is the fourth to win the OECD adoption, after those by the U.S., Europe, and Japan.

The ministry’s National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation said its self-developed skin sensitization test had become the OECD’s toxicity test guideline at the 30th meeting of the OECD Working Group of the National Coordinators for the Test Guidelines Program (WNT).

Skin sensitization is a sensitive reaction of the immune system to the antigen that came in through the skin. Related diseases include contact dermatitis.

The approved test is used to develop and test cosmetics on the skin. After the OECD board of directors’ review and announcement, the test will be used for toxicity testing by the regulators in various countries.

The ministry’ skin sensitization is a local lymph node test using flow cytometry. Unlike conventional test methods, the test takes lymph nodes from an animal, which allows additional checks on immune response indicators such as skin sensitization. Such method raises the accuracy of the test. Flow cytometry is a technique analyzing the number, shape, and characteristics of cells flowing through a laser beam.

The new test method can also reduce the pain and the number of animals used for experiments. While conventional tests generate inflammation such as erythema and edema in the guinea pigs, the new test reduces pain and the number of animals because the test period is cut to one-third. The “BALC/c mice” for the new test are locally available at a lower cost.

In April, the OECD adopted the ministry’s “alternative method for eye irritation test, using a human cornea model,” as a new project. International experts will evaluate the test, and the OECD Expert Council will review whether to adopt it as a guideline.

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