Endotoxins are lipopolysaccharides anchored at the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria. These pyrogenic compounds can be introduced in pharmaceutical products during their manufacture and could induce severe physiological reactions in humans. This is why endotoxins are dosed, in order to assure

Last updated on: 28-09-2023 - 11:59

Contact: Flore Laurent
Organisation: Sciensano
Status: Internally validated, Validated by an external party (e.g. OECD, EURL ECVAM,…)
The purpose of the present development is to use avian MoDCs to implement a cellular platform to increase understanding of the immune responses induced by various antigens of interest (e.g. vaccine candidates) and evaluate their immunogenic potential. Considering the difficulty to work on dendritic

Last updated on: 03-02-2023 - 08:51

Contact: Fiona Ingrao
Organisation: Sciensano
Status: Still in development
For the risk assessment of compounds migrating from food contact materials (FCM), information on the exposure to the migrant as well as its possible hazards is needed. To support the evaluation of both starting products and NIAS from plastic FCM, the VERMEER FCM tool has been developed within the

Last updated on: 29-11-2022 - 14:46

Organisation: Sciensano
Status: Internally validated
The in vitro micronucleus test is a genotoxicity test for the detection of micronuclei in the cytoplasm of interphase cells and has been described in detail in OECD TG 487. Micronuclei may originate from acentric chromosome fragments (i.e. lacking a centromere), or whole chromosomes that

Last updated on: 23-11-2022 - 16:31

Contact: Birgit Mertens
Organisation: Sciensano
Status: Published in peer reviewed journal, Validated by an external party (e.g. OECD, EURL ECVAM,…)
In silico tools are computer-assisted methodologies with a high-throughput that allow to predict the toxic potential of compounds without experimental testing. Consequently, in silico tools are time-, cost- and animal-saving in nature. The most commonly used methods are (quantitative) structure

Last updated on: 24-03-2022 - 11:25

Contact: Birgit Mertens
Organisation: Sciensano
Status: Published in peer reviewed journal
The tetanus neurotoxin (TeNT) is one of the most toxic proteins known to man, which prior to the use of the vaccine against the TeNT producing bacteria Clostridium tetani, resulted in a 20% mortality rate upon infection. The clinical detrimental effects of tetanus have decreased immensely since the

Last updated on: 22-03-2022 - 16:49

Contact: Celine Vanhee
Organisation: Sciensano
Status: Published in peer reviewed journal
The DPRA is an in chemico method which quantifies the remaining concentration of cysteine- or lysine-containing peptide following 24 hours incubation with the test chemical at 25 +/-2,5ºC. The synthetic peptides contain phenylalanine to aid in the detection. Relative peptide concentration is

Last updated on: 22-02-2022 - 10:59

Contact: Bart Desmedt
Organisation: Sciensano
Status: History of use, Internally validated, Validated by an external party (e.g. OECD, EURL ECVAM,…)
The monocyte-activation test (MAT) is used to detect or quantify substances that activate human monocytes or monocytic cells to release endogenous mediators such as pro-inflammatory cytokines, for example tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). These

Last updated on: 22-02-2022 - 10:56

Contact: Celine Vanhee
Organisation: Sciensano
Status: Still in development, History of use
The Ames test is a short-term bacterial reverse gene mutation assay specifically designed to detect a wide range of chemical substances that can produce genetic damage that leads to permanent gene mutations. The test has been described in detail in OECD TG 471 and employs several histidine dependent

Last updated on: 21-02-2022 - 15:15

Contact: Roel Anthonissen
Organisation: Sciensano
Status: Published in peer reviewed journal, Validated by an external party (e.g. OECD, EURL ECVAM,…)