Sep 15 2014
Experts from the PETA International Science Consortium will present strategies for optimizing nonanimal testing methods at a workshop that will examine the strengths and limitations of current alternatives to using animals to assess nanotoxicity.
Dr. Amy Clippinger, science advisor for the Science Consortium, will discuss exposure considerations that need to be addressed in order to optimize nonanimal testing strategies for human health risk assessment at the Nano Risk Analysis II Workshop in Washington, D.C. to be held September 15-16 at George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health.
The Society for Risk Analysis organized the workshop to explore the way in which a multiple models approach can advance risk analysis of nanoscale materials. The workshop agenda includes presentations and panel discussions to inform the development of guidance for using these methods in a testing strategy to reduce and replace animal testing and to determine how they can be used in the risk analysis process.
The growing use of nanomaterials in consumer products has increased human exposure to these materials. Nanomaterials undergo many transformations between the time they are manufactured and the time humans are exposed, and thus it is critical to thoroughly characterize and test nanomaterials not only in their manufactured form but to examine them in the form that is most relevant to human exposure.
Says Dr. Clippinger, "It is important to understand the means by which humans may be exposed to a nanomaterial so that in vitro systems can be designed to mimic a realistic exposure. For example, in order to mimic the human situation, a material that is most likely to be inhaled would be coated in a physiologically relevant fluid, such as lung surfactant, and tested using human lung cells grown at the air–liquid interface. Furthermore, it is critical to design testing strategies to incorporate in vitro methods in a risk assessment–based paradigm that can be applied by regulators to make intelligent decisions regarding safety of nanomaterials."
Dr. Monita Sharma, nanotechnology expert for the Science Consortium, will also be a panelist for a discussion on applying nonanimal methods for human health risk assessment.
Source: http://peta.org/