JRC to call for biochemical studies
Prior information has been released on a contract to provide studies on 13 areas of interest to the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC). The studies will be on the following subjects: - evaluation of biocompatibility of metal-based biomedical implants by in vitro toxicity testing; - in vitro models of metal-induced infertility and spermiotoxicity; - in vitro cellular biotransformation of metal compounds; - data collection in the fields of in vitro neurotoxicity and biocompatibility testing of medical devices; - chronic in vitro toxicity testing: novel cell culture assay systems; - prevalidation and validation of metabolically-competent in vitro systems for predicting metabolism-mediated toxicity; - refinement of Olive (GLP online in vitro toxicology ECVAM) database systems; - induction of conformational changes in p53 mutants and modulation of sensitivity to selective anti-cancer drugs; - in vitro assessment of the effects of fluoride compounds on human tissues; - biostatistical methods applied to in vitro toxicological prevalidation and validation studies; - development and refinement of Caco-2 cells as an in vitro model of intestinal barrier function; - prevalidation of in vitro tests for cardiotoxicity; - safety testing of cosmetic products on human volunteers. These calls should be officially opened in the second and third quarters of this year.