Department Environmental Toxicology
Predicting acute fish toxicity using in vitro models


The acute fish toxicity test is one of the most frequently performed tests in regulatory environmental risk assessment in order to assess the toxicity of chemicals and effluents. Because the effect measured is survival, resp. death of the fish, this test assumes the highest severity degree in animal testing.
On this background, we aim to develop alternatives to this test. The initial focus was on early life stages of zebrafish – an according OECD test guideline (OECD236) exists for several years. We thus are now focusing on alternatives which do not require any fish any more: cell lines. One test that we established with a fish gill cell line has been adopted by ISO (ISO21115) in April 2019; this test is also offered as a service by our spin-off, aQuatox-Solutions Ltd. We are now working with experts of the OECD in order to establish this test on the OECD level as well.
Media reports:
- Link to the press release
- Link to a discussion of the gill cell line assay on SRF1
- Link to Zebrafish Embryotests in Ecotoxicology (short version)
- Link to Zebrafish Embryotests in Ecotoxicology (long version)