Cellular Sentinels Toxicity Platform

Abstract : The ultimate goal of toxicity testing is to assess the likely risks posed to human populations at ambient exposure levels. Unfortunately, current approaches to toxicology are expensive and are vastly outpaced by the rate of discovery of new compounds. To address this imbalance, research scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys have developed the Cellular Sentinels Toxicity Platform. This approach combines induced pluripotent stem cells and their derivatives with rapid high-throughput screens of cellular morphology and physiology. Over the last three years, we have successfully advanced and validated the platform, demonstrating utility in its application to the rapid identification of potentially toxic compounds.