Our Genotoxicity Programme aims to develop new in vitro assays which are more relevant and predictive for the dermal route of exposure than the tests available today. It focuses on developing assays that use reconstructed human skin tissues. These tissues are morphologically very similar to human skin in particular 3-dimensional (3D) models have shown high predictability of the genotoxicity of substances via the dermal route of exposure. Currently they are being used in two different methods : the Micronucleus and Comet assays. Both have the potential to be combined with the standard battery of in vitro tests to improve their predictions, especially the rates of irrelevant positives. The 3D-assays are under evaluation to substantiate and foresee their regulatory use and acceptance.
