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,…)
The VITOTOX test is a bacterial genotoxicity test. The test is based on bacteria that contain the lux operon of Vibrio fischeri under transcriptional control of the mutated recN promoter, which is controlled by the bacterial SOS-system (TA 104-recN2-4 strain or Genox strain). After incubation

Last updated on: 26-05-2022 - 10:40

Contact: Roel Anthonissen
Organisation: Sciensano
Status: History of use, Published in peer reviewed journal
The CALUX® system (Chemically Actived LUciferase eXpression) of Bio Detection Systems (BDS, Amsterdam, the Netherlands) uses U-2 OS cells (human osteoblast) that are stably transfected with human TRb or human PPARg2 (BDS, Amsterdam) and a luciferase reporter construct under the control of a receptor

Last updated on: 05-05-2022 - 08:59

Contact: Cannot be disclosed
Organisation: Sciensano
Partners: BDS
Status: Published in peer reviewed journal
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 ATP cell viability assay (CellTiter-Glo assay test kit) provides a quantitative measurement of the ATP content directly proportional to the number of cells present in culture. The homogeneous assay procedure involves adding one single reagent, CellTiter-Glo Reagent directly to cells cultured in

Last updated on: 24-03-2022 - 11:20

Contact: Cannot be disclosed
Organisation: Sciensano
Status: History of use, 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 GENOMARK tool in metabolically competent human HepaRG cells is based on the transcriptomic results obtained with 12 genotoxic (in vivo positive results) and 12 non-genotoxic (in vivo negative results) reference compounds. Genotoxic compounds were selected to cover different mechanisms of action

Last updated on: 28-02-2022 - 11:03

Contact: Anouck Thienpont
Organisation: Sciensano, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Status: Internally validated, Published in peer reviewed journal
The multiplex immunoassay is based on the Luminex technology and allows the detection of diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis antigens of human combined vaccines in the same run. As potency test of these vaccines are currently performed on animal through challenge and/or serological assays,

Last updated on: 28-02-2022 - 09:19

Contact: Maxime Vermeulen
Organisation: Sciensano
Partners: VAC2VAC
Status: Still in development
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 neutral red uptake (NRU) assay provides a quantitative measurement of the number of viable cells. The test is based on the ability of living cells to take up and bind neutral red (NR), a dye which easily penetrates cell membranes via non-ionic diffusion and accumulates in the lysosomes. Dying

Last updated on: 21-02-2022 - 15:23

Contact: Roel Anthonissen
Organisation: Sciensano
Status: History of use, Published in peer reviewed journal