THE PERFUSED FISH GILL PREPARATION IN STUDIES OF THE BIOAVAILABILITY OF CHEMICALS

The bioavailability of chemicals has received considerable attention in aquatic toxicology, and it is generally agreed that information about biovailability is lacking in many situations. Here an experimental approach that can be used to assess the bioavailability of chemicals to fish is presented. The gills are the primary uptake site of dissolved chemicals in fish. A perfused gill preparation from rainbow trout is described. The preparation allows direct measurements of the absorption rates of chemicals across the gill epithelium. The use of the preparation in bioavailability studies is exemplified by a study of cadmium availability in different water qualities, by the pH-dependent absorption of hexavalent chromium and by a study on the pH-dependent absorption of halogenated phenols across the gills. © 1990.