Cytotoxicity Testing Of Dental Materials

Cytotoxicity Testing Of Dental Materials

Write a short note on cytotoxicity.
Answer:

Cytotoxicity is defined as the cascade of molecular events that interfere with macromolecular synthesis, causing unequivocal cellular, functional, and structural damage. Cytotoxic screening can be done in vivo or in vitro.

In vitro, tests are conducted on cultured cells like mouse L–929 fibroblasts and human Hela cells. There are many in vitro tests. For example, Agar overlay technique; Agar is spread over a layer of culture cells in a culture plate. The test material is then placed on it and incubated. A toxic material will show a clear zone of dead cells.

Advantages of Cytotoxicity:

• Screening a large number of samples quickly and inexpensively
• Quantifying results
• Greater sensitivity to toxic material than usage tests
• Testing for specific functions of cell metabolism.

Disadvantages of Cytotoxicity:

• Limitation of testing to only one cell type at a time
• Dissimilarity of test cells and host cells
• Lack of inflammatory and other tissue protective mechanisms in tissue culture.