Binding of hydrophobic chemicals to colloids such as proteins or lipids is difficult to measure using classical microdialysis methods due to low aqueous concentrations, adsorption to dialysis membranes and test vessels, and slow kinetics of equilibration. Here, we employed a three-phase partitioning system where silicone (polydimethylsiloxane, PDMS) serves as a third phase to determine partitioning between water and colloids and acts at the same time as a dosing device for hydrophobic chemicals. The applicability of this method was demonstrated with bovine serum albumin (BSA). Measured binding constants (K(BSAw)) for chlorpyrifos, methoxychlor, nonylphenol, and pyrene were in good agreement with an established quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR). A fifth compound, fluoxypyr-methyl-heptyl ester, was excluded from the analysis because of apparent abiotic degradation. The PDMS depletion method was then used to determine partition coefficients for test chemicals in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) liver S9 fractions (K(S9w)) and blood plasma (K(bloodw)). Measured K(S9w) and K(bloodw) values were consistent with predictions obtained using a mass-balance model that employs the octanol-water partition coefficient (K(ow)) as a surrogate for lipid partitioning and K(BSAw) to represent protein binding. For each compound, K(bloodw) was substantially greater than K(S9w), primarily because blood contains more lipid than liver S9 fractions (1.84% of wet weight vs 0.051%). Measured liver S9 and blood plasma binding parameters were subsequently implemented in an in vitro to in vivo extrapolation model to link the in vitro liver S9 metabolic degradation assay to in vivo metabolism in fish. Apparent volumes of distribution (V(d)) calculated from the experimental data were similar to literature estimates. However, the calculated binding ratios (f(u)) used to relate in vitro metabolic clearance to clearance by the intact liver were 10 to 100 times lower than values used in previous modeling efforts. Bioconcentration factors (BCF) predicted using the experimental binding data were substantially higher than the predicted values obtained in earlier studies and correlated poorly with measured BCF values in fish. One possible explanation for this finding is that chemicals bound to proteins can desorb rapidly and thus contribute to metabolic turnover of the chemicals. This hypothesis remains to be investigated in future studies, ideally with chemicals of higher hydrophobicity.

Hydrophobic and volatile chemicals have proven to be difficult to dose in cell assays. Cosolvents are often needed to dissolve these chemicals in cell culture medium. Moreover, the free concentration of these chemicals in culture medium may diminish over time due to metabolism, evaporation, and nonspecific binding to well plate surfaces and serum constituents. The aim of this study was to develop a partitioncontrolled dosing system to maintain constant concentrations of benzo(a)pyrene, 1,2-dichlorobenzene, and 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene in an ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) assay and a cytotoxicity assay with the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) cell lines RTL-W1 and RTgill-W1. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sheets were loaded with test chemicals in a spiked methanol/water solution and placed in the wells, filled with culture medium, of a 24-well culture plate. Cells were grown on inserts and were subsequently added to the wells with the PDMS sheets. The system reached equilibrium within 24 h, even for the very hydrophobic chemical benzo(a)pyrene. The reservoir of test chemical in PDMS was large enough to compensate for the loss of >95% of the test chemical from the culture medium. The PDMS sheets maintained medium concentrations constant for >72 h. Nominal median effect concentrations (EC 50 ) were 1.3-7.0 times lower in the partition-controlled dosing systems than in conventional assays spiked using dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a carrier solvent, thus indicating that the apparent sensitivity of the bioassay increased when controlled and constant exposure conditions could be assured. The EC 50 values of the test chemicals based on free concentrations were estimated in the partition-controlled dosing systems using measured PDMS-bare culture medium partition coefficients. Results indicated that 61, 70, and 99.8% of 1,2-diclorobenzene, 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene, and benzo(a)pyrene were bound to serum constituents in the culture medium.

We present a conceptual framework that can be used to assign risk bands to inhaled low aspect ratio nanoparticles starting from exposure bands assigned to a specific exposure situation. The framework mimics a basic physiological scheme that captures the essential mechanisms of fate and toxicity of inhaled nanoparticles and is composed of several models and rules that estimate the result of the following processes: the deposition of particles in the respiratory tract, their (de-)agglomeration, lung burden and clearance, their diffusion through the lung mucus layer, translocation and cellular uptake and local and systemic toxicity. Each model is based on a set of particle's physicochemical properties, including the size and size distribution(s), the zeta potential (or net charge at a specific pH), the surface hydrophobicity or hydrophilicity, the conduction band energy (for metals, metal oxides, quantum dots, etc.) and the solubility at a specific pH. The framework takes the exposure bands as input and predicts, using the above-mentioned models, an internal dose band (module 1). Module 2 assigns a relative hazard ranking depending on the region of particle deposition in the respiratory tract, the likelihood of uptake and whether the toxicological effects are assumed to be local and/or systemic. By combining the results of Module 1 and 2, the framework provides a relative risk ranking.