Report nanoecotoxicity studies

This nanoCRED reporting checklist was developed to help researchers design, perform and report ecotoxicity studies in a transparent way that fulfill the reliability criteria for regulatory risk assessment. Not all criteria apply to all studies.

 

1 General information
a Purpose of study
b Description of endpoints
2 Test setup
a Performed according to standard/modified standard (e.g., OECD, US EPA)
b Performed according to Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) 
c Description of used control(s): dispersion control, metal ion control, bulk particle of the same chemical composition, negative and positive control 
d Control(s) mortality, growth, morbidity, physical effects, shading and other observed non-standard effects like behavior and coloring
e Comparison to validity criteria (e.g. control survival, growth) from appropriate standard test method 
3 Test compound
a Identification (e.g. name, CAS-number, particle size, shape, particle size distribution, surface area, coating)
b Physico-chemical characteristics that may influence the behavior of the nanomaterial during the study data (e.g. solubility, aggregation, agglomeration)
c Source (supplier, batch number)
d Purity in %
e Composition of product formulation, and presence of impurities
4 Test organism
a Scientific name
b Body weight, length
c Age/life-stage
d Growth/reproductive condition
e Sex
f Strain, clone
g Source, including possible pre-exposure for field-collected species
h Culture handling
5 Exposure conditions
a Exposure schedule (static, semi static, flow through system, other) and flow-rate (flow-through systems) or renewal time (semi-static systems) 
b Open or closed system 
c Test medium composition and source of test water (e.g., well water, deionised water, tap water)
d Temperature, and time-points for measuring
e pH, and time-points for measuring
f Hardness of water, and time-points for measuring
g Conductivity, and time-points for measuring
h Dissolved oxygen content, and time-points for measuring
i Light intensity and quality (source and homogeneity), light/dark conditions
j Feeding protocols, food composition
k Material and volume of aquarium/container and other equipment in contact with test organisms and nanomaterial
l Use of sand or sediment, and its characteristics (total organic carbon (TOC), particle size, etc.)  
m Preparation of stock suspension, including solvent concentrations in test water and controls  
n Nominal concentrations of nanomaterial
o Measured concentrations  and physical, chemical, or biological transformations of the tested nanomaterial, and time-points for measuring 
p Analytical method: description of method, including limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ)
q Exposure duration and total test duration
r Time-points of observations for endpoints
s Results based on nominal or measured concentrations taking potential instability of suspensions into account
t Biomass loading (nanomaterial to biomass ratio)
6 Statistical Design and Biological Response
a Number of replicates for control(s) and test concentrations; setup of replicates (avoid pseudo-replication) 
b Number of organisms, or algal cell concentration, per replicate
c Treatment design (e.g., block, randomized)
d Statistical method used
e Biological response for each concentration 
f Dose-response observed
g Statistically significant responses noted (e.g. ECx)
h Significance level for NOEC and LOEC data (0.05 or less)
i Estimation of variability for LCx and ECx data
j

Availability of raw data: through supplementary information, a website, or upon request.

 

Reference: Download the nanoCRED reporting checklist for nanoecotoxicity studies here. For nano-specific guidance, please see Hartmann et al. 2017

Contact: Marlene Ågerstrand, marlene.agerstrand@aces.su.se