The use of insect cell line Sf21 for ecotoxicity testing

Trevor Grigg*, Richard D. Handy, Richard A. Billington

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Insect cell lines are finding utility in many areas of biology, but their application as an in vitro tool for ecotoxicity testing has been given less attention. Our study aimed to demonstrate the utility and sensitivity of Sf21 cells to commonly used fungicides: Propiconazole and CuSO4, as well as dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) an industrial solvent. Sf21 cells were readily cultured from frozen stocks in 3-4 days and showed utility as an invertebrate in vitro acute toxicity test. The data showed the threshold levels of cell survivability against propiconazole and CuSO4. The EC50 values were 135.1 μM and 3.31 mM respectively. The LOAEL (lowest observed adverse effect level) was ≈ 1 μM for propiconazole and ≈ 10 μM for CuSO4. Culturing of Sf21 cells in media containing the solvent DMSO showed that 0.5% DMSO concentration did not effect cell viability. Sf21 cells are sensitive and useful as a robust ecologically relevant screening tool for acute toxicity testing.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)831-838
Number of pages8
JournalEcotoxicology
Volume33
Issue number8
Early online date12 Jul 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2024

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Toxicology
  • Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

Keywords

  • Agrochemical testing
  • Copper sulphate
  • Cytotoxicity assay
  • Insect cells
  • Propiconazole
  • Sf21 cells

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