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What's New |
ALTERNATE
TO ANIMAL TESTING
Cellular Therapeutics and Tissue Engineering are the fastest
developing areas in Biotechnology. Already Equivalents of
dermis, epidermis and full skins have been developed and are
being used clinically for the treatment of burns, diabetic
ulcers etc. With increasing pressure from Animal right activists,
pharma and other companies are forced to develop alternate
methods to animal testing for testing potential drugs and
chemicals. For example the Draize test is being replaced by
in vitro living skin equivalent for testing Ophthalmologic
products. These methods are more time saving, rapid screening
possible and hence more economical then animal testing.
The following models/ prototypes that uses a unique proprietary
biopolymer and casting them into films for Cell Culture are
available for rapid screening of potential drug/Herbal extracts
etc: We can also develop custom models for different pharma
applications.
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Cell
Culture based bioassays:
Human Skin fibroblasts, Keratinocytes and melanocytes
for testing drugs, anti-aging creams, sun screens etc.
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Multi
Cell Culture Systems:
Many times potential Pharmacological agents are
converted into pharmaceutical drug by one tissue and
acts on other tissue. For example hepatocytes may convert
a chemical into drug which acts elsewhere. A multi cellular
cultural system has been developed wherein the drug
is initially exposed to hepatocytes and followed by
which the culture extract is fed to Fibroblasts/ Keratinocytes
to evaluate its effect.
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Epidermal
Equivalent
Here the Keratinocytes are grown on 3-D porous matrices
and allowed to grow at the air-liquid interphase to
form full epidermis. Efficacy or permeability of potential
cosmoceutical or drug can be tested in this model.
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Epidermal
Melanin unit culture.
In normal skin, melanocytes interact with several
Keratinocytes. Constructed equivalents can be used as
model system to study melanogenesis and effect of regulators
such as tanning and lightening agents.
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3-D
skin equivalents.
The fibroblasts grown in 3-D porous matrices are
allowed to become dermis and Keratinocytes are seeded
on them. With melanocytes these prototypes can be used
for testing drug penetrance, solar aging etc.
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Scalp
skin organ culture equivalents.
Here agents affecting hair growth etc can be investigated.
This service is done in collaboration with “Vinoy
Biotech and Cellular Therapeutics”, Bangalore
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