New scientific findings from the Heinz Nixdorf Chair of Medical Electronics at the TUM University in Munich concerning the conduction of toxicity tests on cells could be an important step away from controversial animal experiments.

In the latest experiments, three-dimensional hepatocytes were able to be observed using IMOLA-IVD measuring systems. In most of the previous tests, two-dimensional cells were immobilised and investigated, a process in which cell cultures do not maintain all of their specific functions, making these experiments less predictive for toxicological effects on humans.

During the experiment, SDS (sodium dodecyl sulphate) was added and then removed from the cell culture. Adding toxicological substances repeatedly is only possible with IMOLA-IVD systems because of their ability to continuously observe the vitality of cell cultures label-free over a longer period of time and to add, remove and then re-add active agents through their fluidic systems. This kind of long term measurement allows a very precise measurement of the vitality of cells and thus the toxicity of correspondingly applied chemicals. The improved prognosis for humans is achieved by the realistic structure of the microtissue.

The three-dimensional cell cultures from InSphero AG are therefore ideal for testing the basic research on toxicity required for REACH investigations. With the aid such investigations, detailed insights on the toxicity of substances can be obtained without the use of bioassays.

The experiments were carried out using IMOLA-IVD measuring systems from the company cellasys GmbH and three-dimensional microtissue from the company InSphero AG.

Further information:
IMOLA-IVD systems: http://www.cellasys.com
Three-dimensional cell cultures: http://www.insphero.com