The testing and use of a new method to evaluate chronic toxicity in Daphnia magna.

The importance of toxicity testing to the protection of people and the environment cannot be overstated, however in order for the data to be of use it must be both relevant to actual conditions of exposure and conducted in a manner that efficiently uses resources. In this research we examined the effect of the exposure of simulated natural waters upon the toxicity of Silver Nanoparticles in order to ascertain if a change in toxicity would be observed compared to lab water exposure and if this toxicity would change over time. In addition, we evaluated new methods to conduct toxicity testing including a new test that would reduce the duration of a standard toxicity test from 21 days to 10 while still testing the same endpoints.