Toxicokinetics of a developmental toxicity test in zebrafish embryos and larvae: Relationship with drug exposure in humans and other mammals.

To study the effects of drugs on embryo/fetal development (EFD), developmental and reproductive toxicity studies in zebrafish () embryos is expected to be an accepted alternative method to animal studies using mammals. However, there is a lack of clarity in the relationship between the concentration of developmental toxicity agents in whole embryos or larvae (Ce) and that in aqueous solution (Cw), and also between the amount of drug exposure required to cause developmental toxicity in zebrafish embryos or larvae and that required in mammals. Here, we measured Ce for developmental toxicity agents every 24 h starting at 24 h post fertilization (hpf).