Tox21 experts have expertise in the following areas:
Large-Scale Screening
- Assay development
- Assay design
- Assay validation (assay screened in triplicate against pharmacologically active compounds and 88 additional compounds selected by the Tox21 Chemical Selection Working Group to evaluate reproducibility and positive control consistency)
- Assay optimization
- High-content screening
- Quantitative high-throughput screening (qHTS)
- Assay miniaturization (adapted for the qHTS platform)
Genomic Analyses
- Gene expression profiling (e.g., RNAseq and scRNAseq)
- Epigenetic analysis
Human Cell Model Development
- Stem cell–derived models of neurons, endothelium and cardiomyocytes
- Immortalized cell line models of neurons, keratinocytes and renal proximal tubule epithelial cells
- Genome engineering using CRISPR
Data Analysis
- Normalization and correction
- Concentration-response curve-fitting to generate potency and efficacy
- Classification of curves based on significance of fit (by p-values), completeness of fit and efficacy
- Reproducibility evaluation
- Assignment of activity outcomes
- Concentration-response point-of-departure determination from gene expression data
Data Dissemination
Data available in these public databases encourage independent evaluations of Tox21 findings:
- PubChem (National Library of Medicine)
- Tox21 Data Browser (NCATS)
- Chemical Effects in Biological Systems (National Toxicology Program)
- Aggregated Computational Toxicology Resource (Environmental Protection Agency)