The use of alternative systems for the ecotoxicological screening of complex mixtures on fish populations

This paper presents the results of the use of alternative systems in a scre ening study of four complex mixtures. The following tests were performed: i n vitro induction of micronuclei in a rainbow trout-derived cell line by fl ow cytometry, and hatching percentage, time of hatching and teratogenic alt erations on the embryolarval development on medaka fish eggs. The results o btained with the proposed tests in this study allows an increase in the inf ormation level in a short period of time (2 weeks), using very low sample v olumes (< 100 mi). Inclusion of chronic and specific effects (genotoxicity and teratogenicity) allows the selection of the most sensitive endpoint to increase security factors in the ecotoxicological assessment of complex mix tures, so that detailed studies can be focused only on those samples which require further research. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserve d.