|
Asia Pacific ISSX Meeting 2008
Man's use of xenobiotics dates from antiquity but interest in foreign compound metabolism dates from only the mid-19th century when the knowledge and
techniques of organic chemistry were first applied to its study. For nearly a century thereafter biotransformation was generally equated with "detoxication" or the
elimination of a compound's biological activity.
This view changed in the late 1930s with the discovery that the synthetic azo-dye Prontosil owed its life-saving antibacterial activity to its metabolite, sulfanilamide. Since the 1950s the biological effects of numerous xenobiotic substances have been shown to be due to biotransformation products rather than the parent compound. The importance of biotransformation and other aspects of the interaction of xenobiotics with living systems has not escaped the notice of regulatory agencies worldwide. Their need for scientific knowledge on which to base regulations and safety evaluations for chemicals and drugs provides one important motivation for the study of xenobiotics.
Of necessity, scientists working in such diverse fields as clinical and basic pharmacology, biochemistry, toxicology and oncology became drawn into metabolism studies, both in universities and research institutes and in the pharmaceutical, chemical, agro-chemical, food processing, tobacco and cosmetic industries. In 1981, a small group of scientists, brought together during the1970s under the aegis of the Gordon Research Conferences on Drug Metabolism, took the bold step of suggesting the organization of an international society to promote the interaction of scientists dedicated broadly to the study of xenobiotics in living systems. Thus the International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics was formed.
ISSX currently has a strong international base of over 2,250 members from more than 50 countries. In addition to international meetings held every third year, ISSX holds one or more regional meetings and workshops in European, Asia/Pacific and North American venues on a regularly scheduled basis.
The 2nd Asian Pacific Regional Meeting will be held on May 11-13, 2008, at the Fudan University, Zhangjiang Branch, Shanghai China.
|
