Biotechnology and pharmacotoxicology

Modern toxicology involves the study of structure and mechanism related to the toxic effects of chemical agents, and encompasses technology advances in research related to chemical aspects of toxicology. Toxicology is strongly multidisciplinary, spanning computational chemistry and synthetic chemistry, proteomics and metabolomics, drug discovery, drug metabolism and mechanisms of action, bioinformatics, bioanalytical chemistry, chemical biology, and molecular epidemiology. Integration of all this information is central to hazard identification and proper risk assessment. Among possible adverse effects, those affecting the immune and the reproductive system together with genotoxic effects and the development of cancer, are the ones that should arouse the greatest concern.
The main purposes of this module are:
1. to provide notions for a correct characterization and interpretation of genotoxic, cancerogenic, immunotoxic and reproductive adverse effects of xenobiotics.
2. to characterize their molecular mechanisms of action.
3. to provide notions on preclinical toxicology for product development and the EU legislations concerning the following endpoints: genotoxicity, cancerogenicity, immunotoxicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity.
Lectures will be dedicated to the introduction of the different topics and their toxicological evaluation, while the tutorials will be dedicated to the discussion of current OECD guidelines with a direct involvement of students.