AUTEX Research Journal, Vol. 6, No 3, September 2006 © AUTEX http://www.autexrj.org/No3-2006/0204.pdf 182 EVALUATING THE TOXICITY OF REACTIVE DYES AND FABRICS WITH THE SPERMATOZOA MOTILITY INHIBITION TEST Kaisa Klemola 1 , Ulla Honkalampi-Hämäläinen 2 , Jyrki Liesivuori 3 , John Pearson 4 ,Pirjo Lindström-Seppä 5 University of Kuopio, P.O.Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield, HD1 3DH, UK 1 Institute of Applied Biotechnology; tel: + 358 505954178; e-mail: kaisa.klemola@designkuopio.fi 2 Institute of Applied Biotechnology; tel: +358 17163129; e-mail: ulla.honkalampi-hamalainen@uku.fi 3 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology; e-mail: jyrki.liesivuori@uku.fi 4 Department of Design; tel: +44 1484 472054; e-mail: j.s.pearson@hud.ac.uk 5 Faculty of Medicine; e-mail: pirjo.lindstrom-seppa@uku.fi Abstract In this study, the toxicity of reactive dyes and dyed fabrics was investigated using spermatozoa cells in vitro. Boar semen was exposed to different concentrations of monochlorotriazinyl dyes: yellow, red and blue. The spermatozoa cells were also exposed to extracts of dyed fabrics. After 24 and 72 hours respectively, the viability of the cells was evaluated by microscopy. The mean inhibitor concentrations IC50, showing the concentration of the dye when half of the cells are dead compared to the control sample, were calculated from the viability values. After 24 hours’ exposure, the IC50 value calculated for the yellow dye was 135μg/ml, and after 72 hours 60μg/ml. The IC50 value for the red dye was 124μg/ml after 24 hours, and 46μg/ml after 72 hours. The IC50 value for the blue dye after 24 hours was 127μg/ml. After 72 hours, the blue dye caused high toxicity: more than half the cells were dead. Cotton fabrics dyed using these three reactive dyestuffs were extracted by water and analysed by the spermatozoa motility inhibition test. The viability of the cells when exposed to fabric extracts was good. However, after 72 hours’ exposure, the standard deviation and coefficient of variation values for cell viability of fabric extracts were large. The spermatozoa inhibition test indicated the toxicity of pure dyes, the dyed fabrics having no adverse effects. The spermatozoa test seems to be useful when screening different substances and when used in addition to other tests. The spermatozoa motility inhibition test can be used for textile material studies. Key words: textile, fabric, extract, reactive dye, monochlortriazinyl, toxicity, spermatozoa Introduction Textile manufacture utilises a wide range of chemicals which can be harmful to the environment, to people working in textile processing and to consumers. There is information about the adverse effects on textile workers and the effects of pure chemicals, but there is limited information about the overall toxicity of dyed and finished materials [3]. Although a chemical itself may be toxic, its presence in the finished material may have no adverse effect. To study the overall toxicity of textile chemicals and fabrics, in vitro tests can be used. Spermatozoa cells have previously been used for studying the purity of indoor building materials exposed to moisture damage [1]. Our laboratory also uses these cells for studying the harmful effects on fibre-based food related materials. The in vitro spermatozoa motility inhibition test is practical and cheap in laboratory work, and it has a good response to acute toxicity. Docker et al. [5] showed that 15% of workers handling reactive dyes had work-related respiratory and nasal symptoms. Nilsson et al. [17] noticed that there were symptoms of asthma, rhinitis and dermatitis in workers exposed to reactive dyes. Dyes containing anthraquinone or azo structures are known to cause allergic contact dermatitis [7, 23]. However, it is noted that dermatological problems associated with dyes in textiles occur relatively rarely. The cause of skin reactions is difficult to trace