Cultivation of a permanent fish cell line in serum-free media special experiences with a cytotoxicity test for waste water samples.

The use of fetal calf serum (FCS) as standard medium additive for the cell cultivation must be regarded critically from the point of view of animal welfare as well as for scientific reasons and makes it necessary to look for alternatives. In the last years an in vitro cytotoxicity assay for the testing of industrial waste waters with the permanent fish cell line RTG-2 was established and pre-validated as an alternative to the fish test with the golden orfe. The application of FCS is also a special problem with regard to the testing of waste waters in a cytotoxicity test so that FCS-alternatives were tested.

Toxicity assessment of waste water samples with fish cell lines.

An in vitro cytotoxicity assay with fish cell lines was established in order to reduce the number of animals used in fish tests with the golden orfe (leuciscus idus melanotus). In three co-ordinated working laboratories the toxicity of seven chemicals was determined according to a standardized protocol using the permanent cell lines D11 and RTG-2. There was an almost linear correlation (r=0.