Abstract
A hypothesis is presented that narcosis in aquatic organisms occurs when the chemical agent achieves a certain volume fraction (estimated to be 0.63%) in the target phase. If this hypothesis is accepted, it becomes possible to estimate and correlate target/octanol and target/water partition coefficients. Novel methods of presenting quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) based on these partition coefficients are suggested. The hypothesis is tested on four sets of data totalling 151 determinations of narcosis on fathead minnows, guppies, Daphnia magna and Artemia with satisfying results. It is suggested that the target/water partitioning characteristics are such that a “cut off” is reached for chemicals in a series of increasing molecular volume, beyond which the chemicals are not able to achieve the required water concentration necessary to establish the volume fraction at the target which causes narcosis.
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© 1987 D. Reidel Publishing Company
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Abernethy, S., Mackay, D. (1987). A Discussion of Correlations for Narcosis in Aquatic Species. In: Kaiser, K.L.E. (eds) QSAR in Environmental Toxicology - II. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3937-0_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3937-0_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-8246-4
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-3937-0
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