A model to analyze effects of complex mixtures on survival

In ecotoxicology there is a growing interest in effects of mixtures. The aim of this research was to develop a biology-based model that describes effects of mixtures on survival in time. The model works from the individual compounds in the mixture. Such an approach requires parameters for each individual compound in the mixture. For narcotic compounds we underpinned theoretical relations between the toxic parameters and the log K-ow with experimental data by analyzing almost 300 datasets from the open literature, allowing a vast reduction in effort in the assessment of effects of mixtures. To illustrate the use of the model we simulated the effect of a mixture of 14 PAHs on the survival of Pimephales promelas. The simulation showed that due to the combined effect of the compounds in the mixture effects can be seen at very low concentrations. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.