The project 'AOP-Anchored in silico-based NAMs for design safer multicomponent nanomaterials' led by dr Karolina Jagiełło, dr Alicja Mikołajczyk and prof. Tomasz Puzyn from the Laboratory of Environmental Chemoinformatics of the UG Faculty of Chemistry has been nominated as one of nine projects from around the world for the Lush Prize 2024 in the Science category.
Fifty-five projects from around the world in 10 categories were selected. The competition aims to promote efforts to replace animal testing with biologically relevant, non-animal science and public awareness campaigns to draw attention to the issue.
'The traditional process of designing and assessing the risk of new drugs, cosmetics or chemicals involves time and high cost of testing, annually resulting in the death of between 12 million laboratory animals in the EU and 100 million in the US. Due to the specificity and diversity of nanostructures, it is not possible to adapt experimental procedures to the dynamics of industrial development - the cost increases proportionally to the number of studies and newly designed advanced materials,' says dr Alicja Mikołajczyk from the Laboratory of Environmental Chemoinformatics, Faculty of Chemistry, UG. 'The advantage of research using computer methods is the ability to predict the properties and toxicity of a virtually unlimited number of modifications - virtually generated chemical structures. At the same time, the number of tests does not increase the cost of the design process. As a result, only optimal chemical compounds will be synthesised and tested (i.e. compounds with industrially desirable properties while being safe for human health and the environment). Considering that 50 years ago, we did not have computers, and 20 years ago, we did not have the Internet, we believe that in the next 30-50 years, the computer methods we are implementing will allow us to fully transfer ethically questionable animal research from traditional laboratories to virtual space,' adds dr Alicja Mikołajczyk.
The Lush Prize judging panel will meet in February to select the winning projects that will share the £250,000 prize pot.