THAMNOTOXKIT F

Each THAMNOTOXKIT F contains all the materials necessary to perform six acute toxicity tests with the freshwater crustacean Thamnocephalus platyurus.

Easy to follow instructions and detailed illustrations are provided in the kits for the conduct of range-finding and definitive test. The test organisms are included in the kits as “dormant” eggs (cysts) which can easily be hatched on demand, in less than 24 h, to supply the live biota for the conduct of the assay.

The THAMNOTOXIKIT F is a 24 h assay based on mortality of the test organisms, with calculation of the 24 h LC50.

Contents:

• Tubes with cysts, concentrated hatching and toxicant dilution media, hatching and test containers and micropipettes for the transfer of the organisms.
• Detailed Standard Operational Procedure brochure, abbreviated Bench Protocol, data scoring sheets and graphical LC50 calculation sheets.
• Specification sheet with batch number of the cysts and the media.

Reproducibility:

• Cysts of high quality produced in strictly controlled conditions preclude variability associated with recruitments maintenance of live stocks in conventional bioassays.
• Highly uniform quality of the test medium is achieved by simple dilution of concentrated solutions of selected salts with deionized water.
• Standardized microplate test containers constructed of biologically inert materials ensure uniform exposure conditions.
• A quality control test with a reference chemical is described in detail, for accuracy and reproducibility check.

Sensitivity:

• Very sensitive assay.
• In many cases more sensitive than other crustacean test species in acute assays.
• Specifically sensitive to biotoxins produced by blue-green algae.

Validation:

• Used in many laboratories worldwide for routine screening of chemicals and environmental samples.
• Substantial number of publications reporting data for various uses.
• Acute microbiotest with Thamnocephalus platyurus endorsed or taken into consideration for regulatory testing in several countries.

Cost-effectiveness:

• Cysts can be hatched on demand, eliminating the need and the costs of continuous culturing and maintenance of test organisms.
• Minimal equipment needed for test performance: dissecting microscope, small incubator, conventional laboratory glassware.
• Shelf-life of cysts guaranteed for several months when stored properly, reducing test scheduling constraints.

User-friendliness:

• Simple handlings and scorings.
• Total performance time of the assay approximately 1 hour.

THAMNOTOXKIT F short test protocol.