MORPHEUS - Combination of in silico and in vitro methods for the detection of substance effects using morphological and molecular fingerprints via HT/HC screening

Funded by: BMBF

Funding period: 2022 - 2025

Coordinator: BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment/Bf3R

Further development of a cell-based high-throughput method - the E-Morph Assay - (Kornhuber et al.short foret alii (lat. "and others"), 2021) using the "Cell Painting" method and artificial intelligence to identify characteristic changes in cell morphology caused by substances with hormonal effects. With the help of these "morphological fingerprints", computer models are to be developed that will in future make it possible to predict possible hormonal effects of chemicals based on their structural properties ("molecular fingerprints").

With the development of an animal-free test strategy using in silico and in vitro methods, the MORPHEUS (MORPHology-based Endocrine disruptor Screening) project aims to help avoid unnecessary animal testing in legally required toxicological tests and biomedical research.