Applicability of nanomaterial-specific guidelines within long-term Daphnia magna toxicity assays: A case study on multigenerational effects of nTiO2 and nCeO2 exposure in the presence of artificial daylight

Abstract

In recent years, various ecotoxicological test guidelines and (technical) guidance documents have been evaluated and updated with regard to their applicability to nanomaterials (NMs). Several of these have currently reached official regulatory status. Ensuring their harmonized implementation with previously recognized methods for ecotoxicity testing of chemicals is a crucial next step towards effective and efficient regulation of NMs. In the present study, we evaluated the feasibility of assessing multigenerational effects in the first generation of offspring derived from exposed Daphnia magna whilst maintaining test conditions in accordance with regulatory test guidelines and guidance documents for NMs. To do so, we integrated the recommendations for ecotoxicological testing of NMs as defined in OECD Guidance Document 317 into an extended long-term D. magna reproduction test method (OECD Test Guideline 211) and assessed effects of two poorly soluble NMs (nTiO₂ and nCeO₂). Our results show adverse effects on life-history parameters of D. magna exposed to the selected nanomaterials within the range of reported environmental concentrations. We argue that conforming to OECD test guidelines and accompanying guidance for nanomaterials is feasible when performing D. magna reproduction tests and can minimize unnecessary duplication of similar experiments, even when extensions to the standardized test setup are added.

Keywords: Chronic effects; Environmental risk assessment; Standard operating procedure.