Implementation of the passive dosing technique in ecotoxicity studies

• Grant number: 17/07871-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 19, 2018
• End date: July 18, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Pharmacology - Toxicology
• Principal Investigator: Gisela de Aragão Umbuzeiro
• Grantee: José Ricardo Rossetto Martins Zwarg
• Supervisor: Werner Brack
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Tecnologia (FT). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Limeira , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Helmholtz Association, Germany
• Associated to the scholarship: 15/11399-7 - Miniaturization of the Salmonella/microsome in microsuspension assay, BP.IC

Abstract

One of the major difficulties of aquatic ecotoxicity tests is define and control the exposure concentration with a high degree of reliability, due to the losses that occur in the system by sorption, precipitation, volatilization, chemical and biological degradation, and uptake by the organisms. One good solution for these issues is the technique called passive dosing, which involves the partitioning of hydrophobic organic compounds into the test medium from a dominating reservoir loaded in a biologically inert polymer phase. The most suitable and flexible format for this device is the silicone O-ring. They are easy to introduce and remove from the wells and are cheaply available in large quantities in a highly standardized form. The objective of the present internship is learn the passive dosing technique using the silicone O-rings format for, later, implement this tool in ecotoxicity studies when back to UNICAMP. This new tool will provide a new exposure approach to perform the ecotoxicity tests from the project Virtual Effect Directed Analysis for mutagenicity characterization of relevant environmental samples, which is financed from FAPESP (2015/24758-5). In this project, besides analyzing for mutagenicity, our group detected toxicity using the crustacean amphipod Parhyale hawaiensis in whole sediment, and organic extracts of Santos sediment under the influence of the discharge of the sewage outfall. The proposed project is part of a collaborative Solution-oriented project approved by the European commission - EU Work Programme 2013 called: "SOLUTIONS for present and future emerging pollutants in land and water resources management". The internship will be developed under supervision of the coordinator of the Solutions project Dr. Werner Brack from Helmholtz - Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany. (AU)