Publications by authors named "Dorothy Yu Huang"

The animal-based Draize test remains the gold standard for assessment of ocular irritation. However, subjective scoring methods, species differences, and animal welfare concerns have spurred development of alternative test methods. In this study, a novel in vitro method for assessing ocular irritancy was developed using a microelectric cell sensing technology, real-time cell analysis (RTCA).

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Real-time cellular analyzer (RTCA) has been generally applied to test the cytotoxicity of chemicals. However, several factors impact the experimental quality. A non-negligible factor is the abnormal time-dependent cellular response curves (TCRCs) of the wells located at the edge of the E-plate which is defined as edge effect.

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The effect of various toxicants on growth/death and morphology of human cells is investigated using the xCELLigence Real-Time Cell Analysis High Troughput in vitro assay. The cell index is measured as a proxy for the number of cells, and for each test substance in each cell line, time-dependent concentration response curves (TCRCs) are generated. In this paper we propose a mathematical model to study the effect of toxicants with various initial concentrations on the cell index.

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Background: Real Time Cell Analysis (RTCA) technology is used to monitor cellular changes continuously over the entire exposure period. Combining with different testing concentrations, the profiles have potential in probing the mode of action (MOA) of the testing substances.

Results: In this paper, we present machine learning approaches for MOA assessment.

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In order to promote the acceptance of cell-based toxicity testings, the accuracy of cytotoxicity test must be determined when compared to in vivo results. Traditional methods of cytotoxicity analysis, such as LC[Formula: see text] (concentration where 50% of the cells are killed) can be problematic since they have been found to vary with time. Technological advances in cytotoxicity testing make it easy to record the dynamic data on changes in cell proliferation, morphology, and damage.

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Over the past decade, the real-time cell analyzer (RTCA) has provided a good tool to the cell-based in vitro assay. Unlike the traditional systems that label the target cells with luminescence, fluorescence, or light absorption, RTCA monitors cell properties using noninvasive and label-free impedance measuring. However, realization of the maximum value of RTCA for applications will require assurance of within-experiment repeatability, day-to-day repeatability, and robustness to variations in conditions that might occur from different experiments.

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Chemical and physical analyses are commonly used as screening methods for the environmental water. However, these methods can only look for the targeted substance but may miss unexpected toxicants. Furthermore, the synergistic effects of mixture cannot be detected.

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Although many indices have been developed to quantify chemical toxicity, substantial shortcoming is inherent in most of them, such as observation time dependence, insufficient robustness, and no comparison with the negative control. To assess the extent of exposure of the tested substance, a cytotoxicity assay named AUC(50) was developed to describe the time and concentration-dependent cellular responses. By monitoring the dynamic cytotoxicity response profile of living cells via the xCELLigence real-time cell analysis high-throughput (RTCA HT) system, changes in cell number (named cell index, CI) were recorded and analyzed subsequently.

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Microcystins are bioactive metabolites produced by cyanobacteria in water. These cyclic heptapeptides have caused public health concern worldwide. By interfering with cellular phosphorylation and signaling, microcystins can cause acute and chronic liver diseases.

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