Toxicity

Fast, sensitive detection of acute and chronic effects for health, development and reproduction

C elegans as a toxicity testing model

C. elegans is a well-characterised, ethical model for toxicity testing with diverse applications in drug development, compound and environmental fields, with human translatability.

Our toxicity assays and testing advantage

C. elegans, combined with our WormGazer^TM technology and CRO expertise, offers many benefits over rodent models, including reduced timeframes and costs, no regulatory requirements, and significantly streamlined study designs. Our approach enables you to eliminate unsuccessful candidates at an early stage of your product development pipeline

Our advantage for toxicity testing

Reduced timeframes, costs and regulatory requirements
An ethical alternative model for toxicity testing compared to more sentient mammals
Standardised, population-scale acute and chronic testing for mutation and compound effects on healthspan
Rapid, sensitive and scalable data-acquisition in DART assays with WormGazer^TM technology and progeny number
Streamlined study designs with multidisciplinary expert input
Invaluable prescreen to eliminate compounds for toxicity and prioritise product pipeline
An established track record of relevance to many human diseases like neurodegeneration, cancer, and metabolism

Transferable data

C. elegans serve as a versatile model for studying diseases due to its conserved genetic pathway. This makes C. elegans a biologically relevant and efficient model for toxicity studies, providing valuable insights into the potential effects of chemicals on human health and development.

Find out more about how C.elegans have been used in DART studies here

Multi-faceted healthspan assays

We are able to generate rich data using extensive healthspan assays, rather than simply measuring lifespan (live/dead endpoints). Examples of relevant outputs include chronic effects on ageing, mobility, behaviour, development and reproduction.

Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity (DART) assays

Our Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity (DART) assays take advantage of the 300 progeny produced by each healthy adult worm in 3 days. This, combined with the scalable data acquisition from WormGazer^TM technology ensures fast, sensitive detection of toxicity in large-scale populations for both acute and chronic toxicity.

We can help you effectively prescreen and prioritise your product pipeline eliminating compounds for toxicity at an early stage

Toxicity study types:

Acute toxicity

We help you determine if your compound or drug causes short-term mortality for animals at high concentrations, (similar to what you would see studying the impact of a single dose in rodents).

Developmental and reproductive toxicity

We can generate specific measurements on the impact of compounds on development and reproduction by quantifying population growth and the effects on subsequent generations, using manual toxicity assays.

Chronic toxicity

We help you assess the mortality impact of your drug on animals from long-term exposure at lower concentrations,(similar to what you would see studying repeat doses in rodent models).

We can also use our healthspan assays to evaluate the health impact of your compound in ageing animals , more easily and quickly than you can see in rodents.

DART assay: Reproductive Toxicity of Etoxazole in C. elegans

Our WormGazer^TM technology enables a quantitative measure of reproductive toxicity. Extended analysis can be used to measure the rate of population growth and reveal delays in the onset of egg-laying.

Environmental Toxicity case study

For those looking at the environmental toxicity of their compounds, there are few tried and tested options to ethically check whether your compounds will be toxic to wildlife and animals.

Read about our toxicity work with Michelin, a Fortune 500 consumer good manufacturing company and the global leader in tyre manufacturing

Download Case Study