The Krefelder Ciliatetest: A New Experimental Method to Study the Toxicity of Chemicals

During the last years, skin compatibility of textiles has gained importance for consumers. Therefore, the development of suitable test methods for the evaluation of skin compatibility is a vital challenge. The fundamental requirements for these test methods are low experimental complexity combined with minor costs. The Cilitatetest has been developed for the cosmetic and pharmaceutics industry. Due to the optical measurement of the number of living microorganisms, this method is not suitable for colored or heterogeneous samples. However, using a calorimetric detection, these problems are resolved. This method allows very sensitive detection of the metabolism of the microorganism. The presence of any toxic substance results in a reduction of the heat of metabolism.