Description
For the first time, here is a book that focuses on in vitro approaches to the study of the toxicology of polluting agents (including heavy metals, radionuclides, micro-organics, estrogenic compounds, and complex mixtures) in the aquatic environment. The importance of in vitro methods is that they allow standardised techniques to be developed and validated for substance and species specific experiments in a controlled way. Also, they allow mechanistic studies without the problems of individual variation between animals and environmental stress. Introduction; basic culture methods for aquatic species; basic approaches in in vitro toxicology; specialised tissue culture methods; Species specific techniques; endpoints and tools; recombinant technologies, proteomics and genomics, heavy metals; micro-organis and estrogenic compounds; carcinogens and genotoxic agents; radionuclides; sediments; biotoxins; validation: in vitro in vivo bridging approaches; regulation: practical and legal issues; discussion
