Role of Modern Technologies in Reshaping New Age Toxicology

Toxicology defines the adverse effects of chemicals, substances, or environmental agents on living organisms. Traditional toxicology has undergone dramatic evolution from basic observational toxicology to new age toxicology, that relies more on mechanisms at cellular and molecular levels. Due to significant increase in the number of new chemicals (drugs, cosmetics, healthcare and consumer products, and environmental chemicals), toxicity testing has become very expensive, and time and labor-intensive process that consumes a large number of animals. This prompted evolving new alternative approaches that could significantly improve the process of toxicity testing. Integration of high-end automated technologies like High-throughput Screening, Omics Technologies (Genomics, Transcriptomics, Proteomics, and Metabolomics), Organ-on-a Chip and Microfluidics Models, 3-D (three dimensional) Bioprinting, Advanced Imaging Systems, Computational Modeling, and other technologies have revolutionized the new age toxicology. This remarkably enhanced human productivity by improving the speed, sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility of toxicity testing in compliance with regulatory guidelines. This article provides an overview of various modern technologies attributable to reshaping of new age toxicology.