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Aquatic toxicity of four alkylphenols (3‐tert‐butylphenol, 2‐isopropylphenol, 3‐isopropylphenol, and 4‐isopropylphenol) and their binary mixtures to microbes, invertebrates, and fish
Author(s) -
Choi Kyungho,
Sweet Leonard I.,
Meier Peter G.,
Kim PanGyi
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
environmental toxicology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.813
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1522-7278
pISSN - 1520-4081
DOI - 10.1002/tox.10150
Subject(s) - environmental chemistry , ceriodaphnia dubia , chemistry , toxicity , acute toxicity , invertebrate , biology , organic chemistry , ecology
The acute and chronic toxicity of four simple alkylphenols with butyl and propyl substitutions was evaluated with aquatic microbes, invertebrates, and fish. These alkylphenols—3‐tert‐butylphenol, 2‐isopropylphenol, 3‐isopropylphenol, and 4‐isopropylphenol—have been detected in various environmental media, but their impact on aquatic fauna has seldom been evaluated. Relative susceptibility to each phenolic varied by test species. The marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri was the most susceptible to the alkylphenols, up to 3 orders of magnitude more sensitive than species of higher trophic levels. For 4‐isopropylphenol, the 5‐min Microtox® EC 50 value was 0.01 mg/L, whereas the EC 50 for Ceriodaphnia after a 48‐h exposure was 10.1 mg/L. Notable differences in sensitivity to the alkylphenols was also observed with the Microtox® assay: 4‐isopropylphenol was > 200 times more toxic to V. fischeri than was 2‐isopropylphenol (EC 50 = 2.72 mg/L). For V. fischeri , the mixture toxicity of the alkylphenols was additive in nature and was predicted by a concentration addition model. The energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (ELUMO) explained the observed toxicity of the individual alkylphenols to V. fischeri ( r 2 = 0.92, p < 0.05). These results suggest that the mode of action of polar narcotic alkylphenols to V. fischeri is different than that of other test organisms, possibly because of the differences in the cell structure of the prokaryotic V. fischeri . © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 19: 45–50, 2004.