Volume 31, Issue 3 p. 605-610
Environmental Toxicology

Acute toxicity of poly- and perfluorinated compounds to two cladocerans, Daphnia magna and Chydorus sphaericus

Guang-Hui Ding

Guang-Hui Ding

College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, P.R. China

Laboratory for Ecological Risk Assessment, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands

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Tobias Frömel

Tobias Frömel

Hochschule Fresenius, Institute for Analytical Research, Idstein, Germany

Leiden University, Faculty of Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden, The Netherlands

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Evert-Jan van den Brandhof

Evert-Jan van den Brandhof

Laboratory for Ecological Risk Assessment, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands

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Rob Baerselman

Rob Baerselman

Laboratory for Ecological Risk Assessment, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands

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Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg

Corresponding Author

Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg

Laboratory for Ecological Risk Assessment, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands

Leiden University, Faculty of Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden, The Netherlands

Laboratory for Ecological Risk Assessment, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.Search for more papers by this author
First published: 14 December 2011
Citations: 36

Abstract

With their global distribution, environmental persistence, and potential risk to human beings and ecosystems, poly- and perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are of particular concern for research and regulatory communities. However, insufficient toxicity data are available for most poly- and perfluorinated compounds to assess their possible environmental hazards accurately. Therefore, the acute toxicity of seven poly- and perfluorinated carboxylic acids and alcohols on two cladocerans, Daphnia magna and Chydorus sphaericus, was evaluated in the present study. The adverse effects of these PFCs on these two cladocerans decreased with increasing fluorinated carbon chain length (nC) and quantitative structure–activity relationships were developed to quantify this observation. Because the 50% inhibition effects (EC50) values obtained are far above concentrations typically found in surface water, acute harmful effects of these chemicals to D. magna and C. sphaericus are not expected in the real environment. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012;31:605–610. © 2011 SETAC