Sun Protection Factor Testing: A Call for an In Vitro Method
Practice Points
- The methodology for determining sun protection factor (SPF) that currently is accepted by the US Food and Drug Administration is an expensive and imprecise in vivo test that exposes human participants to harmful UV radiation.
- In vitro tests for determining SPF may be viable alternatives to the current in vivo gold standard.
- Researchers and the sunscreen industry should actively develop these in vitro methodologies to adopt a more accurate and less harmful test for SPF.
Although these 2 steps will be important to the process, adoption of an in vitro standard will require more than statements from the FDA. Additional funding should be allocated to researchers who are studying in vitro methodologies, and companies that profit from the multibillion-dollar sunscreen industry should be encouraged to invest in the development of more accurate and more ethical alternatives to in vivo SPF testing.
In vitro SPF testing is inexpensive, avoids the moral quandary of intentionally sunburning human participants, and is more reliable than in vivo testing. It is time for the FDA to facilitate the efforts of academia and industry in taking concrete steps toward approval of an in vitro alternative to in vivo SPF testing.
