The central theme running through this volume on New Technologies for Toxicity Testing is the development and application of advanced techniques for cell and tissue culture, as well as new markers and endpoints of toxicity, as alternatives to the traditional paradigm of relying on data from laboratory animal tests to undertake labelling and risk assessment. Of course, many of the techniques and methods described in this volume are in the early stages of development, and much work will be needed to ensure their further improvement, optimisation and validation. However, we are confident that this will be achieved and that, just as with the in vitro assays that were validated and granted regulatory acceptance over the last decade, these, and many other new, advanced methods, will likewise become part of the toxicologist’s improved toolbox for coping with increasingly stringent and numerous regulatory requirements and test chemicals, while placing less reliance on traditional testing paradigms.
