The first 13 substances of the MEIC (multicentre evaluation study of in vitro cytotoxicity) project were tested in a test system in which the generation time of yeast cells in their logarithmic growth phase was used as the endpoint. Toxic effects, expressed as EC10, EC20 or EC50 values, were correlated with octanol/water partition coefficients. The correlation was found to be very high, indicating that the lipophilicity of substances is a key parameter for describing the toxicity of chemicals.
GiesA., RosickE., PauliW., KohlerM., CascorbiI., BergerS., and WiegenerB. (1988). Scientific Report for the German Federal Environmental Agency (No. 10603045/04).
2.
EkwallB., BondessonI., CastellJ.V., Gómez-LechónM.J., HellbergS., HögbergJ., JoverR., PonsodaX., RomertL., StenbergK., and WalumE. (1989). Cytotoxicity evaluation of the first ten MEIC chemicals: acute lethal toxicity in man predicted by cytotoxicity in five cellular assays and by oral LD50 tests in rodents.ATLA17, 83–100.
3.
AhlersJ., BenzingM., GiesA., PauliW., & RösickE. (1988). Yeast as unicellular model system in ecotoxicology and xenobiochemistry.Chemosphere17, 1603–1615.
4.
AhlersJ., RösickE., and StadtlanderK. (1988). Environmental chemicals and biomembranes: kinetics of uptake and influence on membrane functions. In Functional Testing of Aquatic Biota for Estimating Hazards of Chemicals (ed. CairnsJ.Jr., & PrattJ.R.), pp. 106–119. American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM 988).
5.
StadtlanderK., RadeS., and AhlersJ. (1982). Influence of growth conditions on the composition of the plasmamembrane from yeast and on kinetic properties of two membrane functions.Journal of Cellular Biochemistry20, 369–380.
6.
RösickE., StadtlanderK., and AhlersJ. (1984). Environmental chemicals and biomembranes. I. Nitrilotriacetic acid.Chemosphere14, 529–544.
7.
HanschC., and LeoA. (1979). Substituent Constants for Correlation Analysis in Chemistry and Biology.New York: John Wiley & Sons.