The central theme running through this volume on New Technologies for Toxicity Testing is the development and application of advanced techniques for cell and tissue culture, as well as new markers and endpoints of toxicity, as alternatives to the traditional paradigm of relying on data from laboratory animal tests to undertake labelling and risk assessment. Of course, many of the techniques and methods described in this volume are in the early stages of development, and much work will be needed to ensure their further improvement, optimisation and validation. However, we are confident that this will be achieved and that, just as with the in vitro assays that were validated and granted regulatory acceptance over the last decade, these, and many other new, advanced methods, will likewise become part of the toxicologist’s improved toolbox for coping with increasingly stringent and numerous regulatory requirements and test chemicals, while placing less reliance on traditional testing paradigms.

The sophistication of modelling and simulation technologies have improved dramatically over the past decade and their applications in toxicity prediction and risk assessment are of critical importance. The integration of predictive toxicology approaches will become increasingly necessary as industrial chemicals advance and as new pharmaceuticals enter the market. In this comprehensive discussion of predictive toxicology and its applications, leading experts express their views on the technologies currently available and the potential for future developments. The book covers a wide range of topics including in silico, in vitro and in vivo approaches that are being used in the safety assessment of chemical substances. It reflects the growing and urgent need to strengthen and improve our ability to predict the safety and risks posed by industrial and pharmaceutical chemicals in humans. The reader will find extensive information on the use of current animal models used for various toxicities and target mediated toxicities. Also discussed are the recent regulatory initiatives to improve the safety assessment of chemicals. The book provides an expert and comprehensive discussion on the current status and future directions of predictive toxicology and its application. The various chapters in the book also reflect the growing need for improvements in our technologies and abilities to predict toxicities of pharmaceutical and industrial chemicals to ensure product safety and protect public health.

Explores the benefits and limitations of the latest high-throughput screening methods With its expert coverage of high-throughput in vitro screening methods for toxicity testing, this book makes it possible for researchers to accelerate and streamline the evaluation and risk assessment of chemicals and drugs for toxicity. Moreover, it enables them to comply with the latest standards set forth by the U.S. National Research Council's "Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Vision and Strategy" and the E.U.'s REACH legislation. Readers will discover a variety of state-of-the-science, high-throughput screening methods presented by a group of leading authorities in toxicology and toxicity testing. High-Throughput Screening Methods in Toxicity Testing is divided into five parts: General aspects, including predicting the toxicity potential of chemicals and drugs via high-throughput bioactivity profiling Assessing different cytotoxicity endpoints Assessing DNA damage and carcinogenesis Assessing reproductive toxicity, cardiotoxicity, and haematotoxicity Assessing drug metabolism and receptor-related toxicity Each chapter describes method principles and includes detailed information about data generation, data analysis, and applications in risk assessment. The authors not only enumerate the advantages of each high-throughput method over comparable conventional methods, but also point out the high-throughput method's limitations and potential pitfalls. In addition, the authors describe current research efforts to make high-throughput toxicity screening even more cost effective and streamlined. Throughout the book, readers will find plenty of figures and illustrations to help them understand and perform the latest high-throughput toxicity screening methods. This book is ideal for toxicologists and other researchers who need to implement high-throughput screening methods for toxicity testing in their laboratories as well as for researchers who need to evaluate the data generated by these methods.

This book provides information on best practices and new thinking regarding the validation of alternative methods for toxicity testing. It covers the validation of experimental and computational methods and integrated approaches to testing and assessment. Validation strategies are discussed for methods employing the latest technologies such as tissue-on-a-chip systems, stem cells and transcriptomics, and for methods derived from pathway-based concepts in toxicology. Validation of Alternative Methods for Toxicity Testing is divided into two sections, in the first, practical insights are given on the state-of-the-art and on approaches that have resulted in successfully validated and accepted alternative methods. The second section focuses on the evolution of validation principles and practice that are necessary to ensure fit-for-purpose validation that has the greatest impact on international regulatory acceptance of alternative methods. In this context validation needs to keep pace with the considerable scientific advancements being made in toxicology, the availability of sophisticated tools and techniques that can be applied in a variety of ways, and the increasing societal and regulatory demands for better safety assessment. This book will be a useful resource for scientists in the field of toxicology, both from industry and academia, developing new test methods, strategies or techniques, as well as Governmental and regulatory authorities interested in understanding the principles and practicalities of validation of alternative methods for toxicity testing.

This second edition of a very successful book is thoroughly updated with existing chapters completely rewritten while the content has more than doubled from 16 to 36 chapters. As with the first edition, the focus is on industrial pharmaceutical research, written by a team of industry experts from around the world, while quality and safety management, drug approval and regulation, patenting issues, and biotechnology fundamentals are also covered. In addition, this new edition now not only includes biotech drug development but also the use of biopharmaceuticals in diagnostics and vaccinations. With a foreword by Robert Langer, Kenneth J Germeshausen Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at MIT and member of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences.

This thought-provoking book describes the ever-expanding "toolbox" of methods now available to reduce, refine, or replace animal usage in toxicity testing.

This volume focuses on the potential application of in vitro procedures to identify and quantify the toxicological risk to target organs associated with the use of commerical products and therapeutic drugs.;Revealing how the results of in vitro toxicity testing can be used in safety assessment, In Vitro Toxicity Testing: explores whether existing test methods can accomplish the necessary goals and, if not, what research is needed to make these techniques a practical reality; presents the current status of toxicity testing in the areas of hepatotoxicity, renal toxicity, ocular irritation, and many others; outlines the role of validation in technology transfer from the research laboratory to safety evaluation; examines testing strategies and regulatory acceptance and addresses common concerns about the ultimate utilization of available methods in chemical safety/hazard considerations; and analyzes the perspective of industrial and regulatory agencies on the application of in vitro toxicity testing.;Generously referenced with over 1400 literature citations, In Vitro Toxicity Testing is for academic, industrial, and regulatory toxicologists; applied, molecular, and cell biologists; pharmacologists; animal welfare activists; and graduate students in pharmacology and toxicology courses.

Quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) represent predictive models derived from the application of statistical tools correlating biological activity or other properties of chemicals with descriptors representative of molecular structure and/or property. Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships in Drug Design, Predictive Toxicology, and Risk Assessment discusses recent advancements in the field of QSARs with special reference to their application in drug development, predictive toxicology, and chemical risk analysis. Focusing on emerging research in the field, this book is an ideal reference source for industry professionals, students, and academicians in the fields of medicinal chemistry and toxicology.

1e dr.: 2007.

The network approaches of systems pharmacology and toxicology serve as early predictors of the most relevant screening approach to pursue both in drug discovery and development and ecotoxicological assessments. Computational approaches have the potential to improve toxicological experimental design, enable more rapid drug efficacy and safety testing and also reduce the number of animals used in experimentation. Rapid advances in availability of computing technology hold tremendous promise for advancing applied and basic science and increasing the efficiency of risk assessment. This book provides an understanding of the basic principles of computational toxicology and the current methods of predictive toxicology using chemical structures, toxicity-related databases, in silico chemical-protein docking, and biological pathway tools. The book begins with an introduction to systems pharmacology and toxicology and computational tools followed by a section exploring modelling adverse outcomes and events. The second part of the book covers the discovery of protein targets and the characterisation of toxicant-protein interactions. Final chapters include case studies and additionally discuss interactions between phytochemicals and Western therapeutics. This book will be useful for scientists involved in environmental research and risk assessment. It will be a valuable resource for postgraduate students and researchers wishing to learn about key methods used in studying biological targets both from a toxicity and pharmacological activity standpoint.