The integration of data on physico-chemical properties, in vitro-derived toxicity data and physiologically based kinetic and dynamic as modelling a tool in hazard and risk assessment. A commentary.

Toxicity of a compound for an organism is dependent on the route of exposure, the amount (or concentration), the way in which the compound is taken up, distributes and is eliminated from the organism (ADME, kinetics) and the intrinsic properties (reactivity; mode of action, dynamics) of the compound towards the organism. These three elements: exposure, kinetics and dynamics form the basis of hazard and risk evaluations. Developments in our knowledge of the way in which physico-chemical properties of chemicals (on the one side) and physiological processes in the organism (on the other side) determine a compound's toxicity have greatly increased our understanding of toxicological processes and our ability to interpret experimental results. This has now resulted in the development of model systems in which the above-mentioned processes can be described mathematically. Biokinetic modelling is currently of great interest, but the further development of toxicodynamic modelling is equally important. The combination of both allows the estimation of a compound's critical amount/concentration on the critical site of action, which ideally would be the basis for hazard and risk assessments. In vitro systems have been extremely useful in studying the molecular basis of a chemical's biological activity, including its mechanism(s) of toxic action. Other achievements include the prediction of biological reactivity on the basis of a compound's physico-chemical properties and the construction of quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs). However, for the incorporation of in vitro-derived data as well as the results of QSARs, kinetic modelling is indispensable. Thus, biokinetic and toxicodynamic modelling are important (if not crucial) tools in toxicological research and there are increasing opportunities to incorporate the results of this work in hazard and risk assessments. Their implementation will allow a much more scientifically-based and a better structured risk assessment, which will be to a much lesser extent relying on animal experimentation.