EURL ECVAM has contributed to the validation of the test methods listed below.
The validation of other test methods has been undertaken by the International Cooperation on Alternative Test Methods (ICATM) partners.
More information on each of the methods below, including the EURL ECVAM Recommendations, can be found in:
- The Tracking System for Alternative methods towards Regulatory acceptance (TSAR)
- The Database Service on Alternative Methods to Animal Experimentation (DB-ALM)
Acute toxicity
Acute systemic toxicity testing involves an assessment of the general toxic effects of a single dose or multiple doses of a chemical or product, within 24 hours by a particular route (oral, dermal, inhalation), and that occur during a subsequent 21-day observation period.
Acute toxicity
Aquatic toxicity
Aquatic toxicity in general refers to the effects of a chemical on organisms living in water and is determined with organisms representing the three trophic levels: algae or plants, invertebrates, vertebrates.
Aquatic toxicity
Aquatic bioconcentration/bioaccumulation
Bioconcentration describes the accumulation of a water-borne chemical by an aquatic organism, whereas bioaccumulation covers the uptake from all environmental sources, e.g. water, food and sediment.
Aquatic bioconcentration/bioaccumulation
Biologicals
Biologicals are products derived from biological sources, including immunologicals (such as vaccines and sera), hormones, antibodies and blood products.
Biologicals
Carcinogenicity
Substances are defined as carcinogenic if after inhalation, ingestion, dermal application or injection they induce (malignant) tumours, increase their incidence or malignancy, or shorten the time of tumour occurrence.
Carcinogenicity
Eye irritation/Serious eye damage
Eye irritation is the production of changes in the eye following the application of a test substance to the anterior surface of the eye, which are fully reversible within 21 days of application.
Eye irritation/Serious eye damage
Genotoxicity
Genetic alterations in somatic and germ cells are associated with serious health effects, which in principle may occur even at low exposure levels.
Genotoxicity
Phototoxicity
Phototoxicity (photoirritation) is defined as a toxic response that is elicited after the initial exposure of skin to certain chemicals and subsequent exposure to light, or that is induced by skin irradiation after systemic administration (oral, intravenous) of a chemical substance.
Phototoxicity
Repeated dose toxicity
Repeated dose toxicity comprises the adverse general toxicological effects occurring as a result of repeated daily exposure dose to a substance for a specified period up to the expected lifespan of the test species.
Repeated dose toxicity
Skin corrosion
Skin corrosion is defined as the production of irreversible damage of the skin; namely, visible necrosis through the epidermis and into the dermis, following the application of a test substance for up to four hours.
Skin corrosion
Skin irritation
Irritant substances lead to a reversible local inflammatory reaction of the skin caused by the innate (non-specific) immune system of the affected tissue.
Skin irritation
Skin sensitisation
Skin sensitisation is the regulatory endpoint aiming at the identification of chemicals able to elicit an allergic response in susceptible individuals.
Skin sensitisation
Toxicokinetics
Toxicokinetics describes how the body handles a chemical, as a function of dose and time, in terms of the concept of ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion).
Toxicokinetics