As pressure rises to eliminate animal testing in the cosmetics industry, a team of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of California have announced a potential alternative.

The scientists have created the DataChip and MetaChip, which mimic the reaction of the human body and reveal the potential toxicity of chemicals. The biochips also could be used in the development of pharmaceuticals.

"There's a desperate need in some industries, like cosmetics, to have technologies that can replace animal testing," said Jonathan Dordick, a professor of biochemistry engineering at RPI.

Traditionally, companies test chemicals and new drugs on animals to predict toxicity on humans, but the European Union is outlawing animal testing for cosmetic products. Scientists worldwide are racing to find alternatives before the March 2009 ban goes into effect. U.S. companies that sell cosmetics in Europe also must comply with the ban.

Another factor driving the need for cheap and efficient testing is a new U.S. law that requires pharmaceutical companies to analyze toxicity of new drugs. About 70 percent of drugs drop out of clinical trials because of toxicity, Dordick said.

He developed the biochips with Douglas Clark, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of California at Berkeley. They are co-founders of Solidus Biosciences Inc., the company that is working to commercialize the chips.

The DataChip, a glassy material that is the size of a microscope slide, is made of 1,080 human cell cultures. Suspended in a gel, the cultures resemble how the cells are arranged in human organs. The DataChip screens for toxicity on the different cells of the body.

The MetaChip, which was developed in 2005, mimics the metabolic reaction of the human liver, where the body processes chemicals and drugs. By arranging the ratio of enzymes on the MetaChip, it can be customized to reflect how different people metabolize chemicals.

"The two chips could someday be used to determine the levels and combinations of drugs that are safe and effective for each individual patient," Clark said in a statement.

A scientist for the cosmetics industry said it's too early to tell whether the chips can replace animal testing.

"The animal model is still the best and most predictive," said John Bailey, chief scientist of the Personal Care Products Council in Washington, D.C.

He said the cosmetics industry has spent $200 million over the past 30 years searching for effective ways to test chemicals that do not rely on animals. But trying to replicate the complexity of human biology is difficult, and Bailey isn't sure the chip-based technology will hold up.

"To say it's a replacement is a little premature," he said.

Dordick's team is working to validate the results of the chips. "We believe it is going to be ultimately more predictive [than animal tests] because we are using the cells that we are made out of," he said.

Their research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation.