CAMDEN A RutgersCamden professor is developing a comprehensive data system that can be used as a valuable computational tool for researchers by providing them with access to chemical toxicity information.
Hao Zhu, an assistant professor of chemistry, is building the "automated profiling system" from existing bioassay data from public resources. The new chemical toxicity profiles can help scientists who are seeking information on chemicals of specific environmental or pharmaceutical interest.
"There exists a very complicated, large-scale database of information and my research is to create an organized profile of chemical compounds that brings data together from the two methods used for predictive toxicity: in vitro methodology and computational methodology," Zhu says.
Zhu's work is being funded by a three-year, $464,983 grant from the National Institutes of Health. The online database will be housed on a RutgersCamden server.
An in-vitro method for testing chemical toxicity is used by scientists to observe how toxic chemical compounds induce changes in a cell. Another method utilizes computational models to predict toxicity directly from chemical structures. Both methods are alternatives to traditional toxicity testing, which has become controversial because the method requires animal testing.
Zhu is taking existing in-vitro data and categorizing and prioritizing it for the new database.
"The in-vitro assays have generated a lot of data," Zhu says. "Knowing chemical toxicity is very important to drug development because we need to know the maximum dose that can be given to a patient so that it does not have harmful effects."
Zhu says he believes that information gained from in-vitro testing and from computational model predictions does not paint a complete picture of chemical toxicity when taken separately, but when combined together, the data can create a better, more comprehensive idea
'/>"/>
| Contact: Ed Moorhouse ejmoor@camden.rutgers.edu 856-225-6759 Rutgers University Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology news :
1. Dip chip technology tests toxicity on the go
2. Boosting blood system protein complex protects against radiation toxicity
3. Rice to take part in $10.8 million study of hemoglobin toxicity
4. Sweet new approach discovered to help produce metal casting parts, reduce toxicity
5. Better tests for liver toxicity would mean more medicines -- and safer medicines -- for patients
6. Study reveals link between oil spill exposure and hematologic and hepatic toxicity
7. Increasing toxicity of algal blooms tied to nutrient enrichment and climate change
8. Sanford-Burnham receives US Air Force grant to perform next-generation toxicity screens
9. U-M Health and Retirement Study adds genetic data to NIH database
10. New databases harvest a rich bounty of information on crop plant metabolism
11. Navigating the Patent Minefield of Embryonic Stem Cell Product Development; Free Kindle Fire Tablet and Research Database with Purchase
| Copyright © 2003-2012 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |