TESTBATTERY FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF AQUATIC TOXICITY

A testbattery of biochemical and (sub)cellular assays was used to obta in a ranking and classification of aquatic contaminants. The assessmen t of model compounds with different modes of action by a series of spe cific (sub)organismic tests was based on the principle of simulating t he possible interactions between the contaminants and respective targe ts in the organisms. The following endpoints were included in the in-v itro testbattery: cytotoxicity in the neutralred and kenacidblue assay with BF-2 fish fibroblasts, decoupling of isolated mitochondria, inhi bition of acetylcholinesterase and reaction with glutathion. The respo nse patterns from the ind;vidual tests were integrated to obtain the a quatic toxicity profiles. The results show that the in-vitro tests are less sensitive as compared to traditional organismic tests and the ob jective to serve as monitors of low-level contaminants is not yet achi eved with the in-vitro tests used in this study. On the other hand, th e testbattery revealed high specificity to identify mode of action rel ated response profiles and to provide an unambiguous classification of toxicants whose impacts may be due to particular interactions. (C) 19 97 Elsevier Science Ltd.