Skin sensitization in vitro, in silico and in chemico: proficiency assay

• Grant number: 20/07451-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2021
• End date: January 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Pharmacy - Toxicological Analysis
• Principal Investigator: Patricia Santos Lopes
• Grantee: Gabriella Lisboa dos Santos
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Diadema. Diadema , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The replacement of animals use in scientific research has been growing over the last few years. The cosmetic area receives special attention when it comes to this controversy and this is evidenced not only by the social pressure emblazoned on news from around the world, but also by the adoption of laws and guidelines that restrict or prohibit cosmetic testing on animals. This generates strong appeal for companies, industries and academia to seek alternatives while maintaining concern for consumer safety. In this way, it is necessary to advance the development of toxicological tests based on knowledge of human biochemical pathways. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, together with specialized laboratories, has validated and filed alternative methods for various toxicological outcomes. Skin sensitization, an event causing allergic contact dermatitis, is a very important outcome when it comes to cosmetics and traditionally accessed by animal methods. Of the alternatives filed, the Direct Peptide Reactivity Assay and KeratinoSensTM are, respectively, in chemic and in vitro methods are quite accurate when associated in an integrated approach, together with the use of software to predict the behavior and characteristics of substances (in silico). In this sense, the objective of the project focuses on the implementation of the two protocoled methods and their integration with the in silico generating a reliable and use technique for future tests.