ON THE ROLE OF BLOOD PROTEINS FOR UPTAKE, DISTRIBUTION, AND CLEARANCE OF WATERBORNE LIPOPHILIC XENOBIOTICS BY FISH - A LINEAR-SYSTEM ANALYSIS

Pharmacokinetic and toxicokinetic system parameters in fish, like gill uptake and elimination efficiencies and mean body residence times of waterborne nonmetabolizing organic xenobiotics, are defined within the framework of linear input-output response theory. Quantitative estimates of these parameters derive from combining (i) a refined flow-limited approach of the countercurrent gill model with (ii) available correlation data of the steady state bioconcentration factor (BCF(s)) as well as (iii) the blood/water partition coefficient (beta) with the octanol/water partition coefficient (K(ow)) of the chemical compound. Predictions from the model are compared to empirical results on short and long term exposure experiments with the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).