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Development of a Dynamic Pharmacokinetic Model to Estimate Bioconcentration of Xenobiotics in Earthworms

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Abstract

A simple and dynamic pharmacokinetic model was developed to predict bioconcentration of organic contaminants in earthworms. The model was parameterized experimentally by placing Lumbricus terrestris in soil contaminated with 200 µg/cm2 of malathion. The toxicokinetics of malathion uptake, depuration, and degradation in soil is measured. After parameterization, the model was able to accurately predict the bioconcentration factor of malathion at steady state. Sensitivity analyses were performed and the rate of absorption was determined to be the most sensitive parameter. Varying the rate of malathion elimination from earthworm tissues, malathion degradation, and the amount of malathion applied to the soil by 25-fold did not result in the bioconcentration of malathion. An increase in the rate of malathion absorption into earthworm tissues by 25-fold did result in bioconcentration. Previously published pharmacokinetic studies on xenobiotics with log K ow values ranging up to 8.05 were used to test the predictive capacity of the model. The model was able to predict from 83% to 105% of the experimentally derived bioconcentration factors.

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Acknowledgements

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through its Office of Research and Development partially funded and collaborated in the research described here under assistance agreement # R-83055101 to North Carolina State University. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view or policies of the EPA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Medicine Consortium, North Carolina State University, 4700 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, NC, 27607, USA

    Heather Henson-Ramsey, Jay Levine, Suzanne Kennedy-Stoskopf & Michael K. Stoskopf

  2. Division of Natural Sciences, Lewis-Clark State College, 500 8th Avenue, Lewiston, ID, 83501, USA

    Heather Henson-Ramsey

  3. Department of Clinical Sciences, North Carolina State University, 4700 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, NC, 27607, USA

    Suzanne Kennedy-Stoskopf & Michael K. Stoskopf

  4. Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, North Carolina State University, 4700 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, NC, 27607, USA

    Jay Levine

  5. National Center for Environmental Assessment-Washington, DC Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Drop B105-07, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27711, USA

    Sharon K. Taylor

  6. Department of Zoology, North Carolina State University, Box 7617, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA

    Damian Shea

  7. Environmental Contaminants Division, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, US Fish and Wildlife Service, 6010 Hidden Valley Road, Carlsbad, CA, 92011, USA

    Sharon K. Taylor

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  1. Heather Henson-Ramsey
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  2. Jay Levine
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Correspondence to Heather Henson-Ramsey.

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Henson-Ramsey, H., Levine, J., Kennedy-Stoskopf, S. et al. Development of a Dynamic Pharmacokinetic Model to Estimate Bioconcentration of Xenobiotics in Earthworms. Environ Model Assess 14, 411–418 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10666-007-9132-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10666-007-9132-4

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