Within the context of the European Union's REACH programme and the US National Toxicity Programme, chemicals are systematically screened for their potentially harmful impact. Dr Schuster is developing methods designed to improve the efficiency and precision of these tests.
Dr Schuster uses 3D models to simulate where and how substances come in contact with the human body and what side effects they may have. The models are cross-checked against databases that list chemicals to identify potentially toxic 'candidates'. The chemicals on the list with which human beings come into direct contact are procured to conduct further testing.
With regard to industrial toxins, Dr Schuster said: "The safety tests that we are currently performing are applicable to starting materials, reactants or products. We have one limitation, however. Our computational methods are currently not suitable to handle metals and metal-containing compounds. But, in vitro methods should be able to handle them."
Apart from the early warning system for potentially dangerous substances, the system will also be able to list compounds that have turned out to be harmless.
