In Vitro Methods of Toxicity Evaluation

In the past decade, in vitro test systems have gained increasing popularity not only because of advantages in mecha­ nistic investigations but also because of pragmatic considerations such as lower costs and shorter durations of experimentation.

Abstract

Toxicity testing has relied almost exclusively on the use of whole animal systems to describe pathologic consequences of chemical exposures, to elucidate mechanisms of action, and to ascertain hazards to human health. In the past decade, in vitro test systems have gained increasing popularity not only because of advantages in mecha­ nistic investigations but also because of pragmatic considerations such as lower costs and shorter durations of experimentation. The wide variety of in vitro test systems falls into four categories: (a) microorganism systems, (b) mammalian cell culture systems, (c) tissue preparations, and (d) organ cultures. Because of their complexity and extensive literature bases, only the first two areas are reviewed in this chapter. The latter two categories will be treated in a future volume.