21 January 2010
A good start to 2010 for replacement research
A landmark in replacement research has been announced by HUREL® Corporation, which provides advanced lab-on-a-chip technology, in collaboration with the cosmetics giant L’Oreal, in the development of a non-animal replacement for tests on mice and guinea pigs to predict allergic skin reactions to chemicals and cosmetics.
HUREL® Corporation is a bioanalytic tools company based in New Jersey, USA, that provides microfluidic devices and advanced cell cultures with human-relevant predictive sensitivity for testing new chemical products. The HUREL® biochip consists of a glass chip with human cells and chemicals that simulate the body’s immune system. When the product to be tested comes into contact with the chip, the cells and chemicals interact to mimic the human body’s natural allergic response. In addition to cosmetics, the technology could be applied to test household cleaners and pesticides.
The new technique could be used as an alternative to classic animal tests on guinea pigs, and the widely-used local lymph node assay (LLNA) that involves applying chemicals to the ears of mice. The LLNA is accepted by regulatory agencies worldwide as a standard means for evaluating potential skin sensitization responses to new compounds.
Although rigorous tests will be necessary to prove the new technology applicable, preliminary experiments are promising, and the new device named “Allergy Test on a Chip™” that will mimic the body’s allergic response to chemicals could be achieved by 2011.
HUREL®s technology could prevent thousands of tests on animals each year, and the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have awarded HUREL® their 2010 Proggy Award for Best Scientific Innovation for their work to replace animals in chemical safety testing.
By eliminating the inaccuracies, time, money and waste of animal life associated with animal testing, this is an example of not only a more human-relevant technology, but one with ethical and economical benefits too.