An evaluation of Econazole, an antifungal agent, for use in quantitative cell culture experiments.

Econazole, an imidazole derivative with high antifungal activity, was tested for cytotoxicity using five sensitive tests of human cell function in vitro: colony forming efficiency, growth rate, cell cycle distribution of a permanent epithelioid cell line (T-1E), and attachment efficiency and urokinase production by early passage human embryonic kidney cells. None of these endpoints was detectably affected by 1 microgram/ml Econazole in serum containing medium. At 3 micrograms/ml, Econazole reduced slightly the growth rate of T-1E cells but did not detectably affect the other end points.