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.