Application of the passive dosing in the acute toxicity assessment of water poorly soluble insecticides

• Grant number: 18/16668-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2019
• End date: February 29, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Pharmacology - Toxicology
• Principal Investigator: Gisela de Aragão Umbuzeiro
• Grantee: Matheus Henrique de Oliveira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Tecnologia (FT). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Limeira , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Sugarcane has played an important role in Brazil's economy, being the source of sugar and ethanol to the national economy, as well as around the world. However, its cultivation involves the application of a heavy load of pesticides, being a source of environmental contamination. Once applied on sugarcane cultures, insecticides may reach water bodies, contaminating them and posing a risk to aquatic communities. Many of these insecticides are lipophilic and poorly soluble in water, presenting potential to bioaccumulation and persistence in the environment. Toxicity tests are usually conducted with an organic solvent, which does not represent these compounds real conditions of biodisponibility to aquatic organisms. Thus, the present work aims to implement and use the passive dosing methodology as a route of exposure. The model compound chosen was »-cyhalothrin, an insecticide of low solubility in water that is largely used in sugarcane crops. Acute tests (48h) with the microcrustacean Daphnia similis will be taken, and the results obtained will be compared. The passive dosing methodology is expected to allow the toxicity assessment of »-cyhalothrin without employing organic solvents, which are not representative of the real situation in which the tested compound occurs in the environment.