초록
Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the optimum conditions for oral mucosal irritation testing using the buccal pouch of hamsters. Methods: Test materials were applied to the buccal pouch of seven-week old male Syrian hamsters (SLC, Japan) four times at one-hour intervals and macroscopic changes were examined at 24 hours after final treatment. After sacrifice, the buccal pouches were removed and prepared for histopathological evaluation. In order to set the exposure time, we performed exposure tests of 5, 12, 18 and 23 minutes using sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) 1% and set the treatment volume from the test results at 2, 3, or 4 ml treatment using SLS 1%, Triton X-100 1% and ethanol. After setting the experimental conditions, seven groups of materials [sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) (1%), Triton X-100 (1%), hydrogen peroxide (3%), ethanol (100%), chlorhexidine (0.2%, 2%), phosphate buffer saline (PBS)] were assessed. Results: Experimental conditions of material exposure time were fixed as 18 minutes from the exposure tests of 5, 12, 18 or 23 min using sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) 1%. Treated volume was set as 4 ml per each pouch from the test results of 2, 3, or 4 ml treatments using SLS 1%, Triton X-100 1% and ethanol. The results in terms of irritation degree were in the order of sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) (1%) > Triton X-100 (1%) ${\fallingdotseq}$ hydrogen peroxide (3%) > ethanol (100%) ${\fallingdotseq}$ chlorhexidine (0.2%, 2%) > phosphate buffer saline (PBS). Conclusion: From this study, suitable conditions for hamster mucosal irritation testing were suggested and this method was verified through materials commonly used on oral mucosal membranes.