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Approaches to Evaluation of Solvents for use in Photosafety Testing

March 20, 2024
New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) are routinely used in photosafety testing to evaluate if a test compound has the potential to become more toxic upon exposure and subsequent exposure to light. Three such NAMs to address photosafety are the in chemico UV-Vis Assay, the cell-based 3T3 Neutral Red Uptake (NRU) Phototoxicity Test (PT), and the tissue-based Reconstructed human EpiDermis (RhE) Phototoxicity Test (PT), described under OECD Test Guidelines (TG) 101, 432, and 498, respectively. These dilution-based assays evaluate the test compound...

Refinement and Optimization of the Photo-KeratinoSens™ Assay to Evaluate Photoallergy Potential

March 20, 2024
Identification of test chemicals that have the potential to become more reactive, more toxic, or may become phototoxic upon application and subsequent exposure to sunlight is integral to photosafety testing. Several regulatory-based New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) are widely used in the evaluation of phototoxicity and skin sensitization potential. More recently, there has been an increased interest in ability to identify photoallergens. To this end, an innovative photo-KeratinoSens™ assay was established with addition of an irradiation exposure (5 J/cm2 of UVA)...

SOT 2024 Newsletter

February 28, 2024
Please visit us at booth #1232 during ToxExpo. We have exciting information to share about new assays, test guidelines and more! In attendance will be: Amanda Ulrey (President), Kristie Sullivan (VP of Education and Outreach), Hans Raabe (COO), Holger Behrsing (Director of Respiratory Services), Vivek Patel and Allison Hilberer (Study Directors) and Brent Gilbert (Director of Business Development). Email us at clientservices@iivs.org to arrange a meeting with any members of our team....

January 2024 Newsletter

January 26, 2024
Coming soon to IIVS: The Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Assay for photoreactivity, a cost effective, high throughput approach that can screen test compounds of interest without the immediate need for more comprehensive (and expensive) assays.      ...

October 2023 Newsletter

January 26, 2024
Recording of the two-part webinar series on in vitro phototoxicity, co-organized by IIVS and PETA Science Consortium International, now available online.          ...

Toxicity and Inflammatory Response to Common Magic Mouthwashes in a 3D Oral Reconstructed Tissue Model

November 8, 2023
Magic Mouthwash is a general term describing oral rinses prescribed by a doctor for the treatment of pain, inflammation, or infection, commonly as a result of chemotherapy and radiation induced oral sores (oral mucositis). There is no set combination of ingredients for the preparation of a magic mouthwash, rather they are formulated for the individual needs of each patient, selecting from an array of various active ingredients. Although the ingredients most commonly used to formulate Magic Mouthwashes are considered safe as prescribed, the final formulations lack toxicity...

Safety Assessment of Monographed OTC Cold/Cough Medicine Using an In Vitro Testing Platform Based on Human Reconstructed Oral Tissues

November 8, 2023
Over-the-counter (OTC) products are available to alleviate concurrent symptoms of colds and flu. They are primarily based on a combination of decongestants, antitussive and alpha adrenergic agonists, which are well-established pharmaceutical agents covered by U.S. monographs. Many of the active components of the OTC cough/cold drugs are bitter and must be masked using flavoring agents. Bayer internally employed a stringent safety testing program for OTC cough/cold medicine line extensions that require the products to be held in the mouth for a short period using an...

Ensuring the quality of a test system using the principles of Good In Vitro Method Practices (GIVIMP): A case study of cryopreserved human precision-cut lung slices

October 10, 2023
Human precision-cut lung slices (hPCLS) are a highly relevant 3-dimensional model of the lung. They offer native architecture and cells of the lung tissue including respiratory parenchyma, small airways, and immune competent cells involved in inflammatory and sensitization processes. The scarcity of human lung tissue available for research and the inability to conduct larger scale testing has limited the use of hPCLS as a test system for routine, high-throughput testing. To overcome this barrier, IIVS has refined the methodology behind...

Key Recommendations from GIVIMP for Test System Suppliers

October 10, 2023
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidance document on Good In Vitro Method Practices (GIVIMP) details a set of quality standards to improve both the quality of and confidence in newly developed, and routinely executed in vitro methods. An important part of (and a source of potential high variability in) any method is the test system. Microphysiological Systems (MPS), including organ-on-a-chip platforms have been used in novel methods for many years. Despite their potential benefits, there are several...

Webinar Series on In Vitro Phototoxicity Testing

September 20, 2023
Thank you for joining us for a two-part webinar series on in vitro phototoxicity testing co-organized by the Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS) and PETA Science Consortium International. Part 1 included a methodological overview on phototoxicity assays, and Part 2 covered case studies from industry applying the methods.  Webinar 1: In Vitro Phototoxicity Testing Part 1: Methodological Overview Presenters: Allison Hilberer, MS, IIVS and Satomi Onoue, PhD, University of Shizuoka Webinar 2: In Vitro Phototoxicity Testing Part 2: Application Case Studies Presenters: Gretchen...