Test criterion
¡¤ The RAPIDTOXKIT is a 30-60 minutes sub lethal assay based on the decrease or the absence of ingestion of red microspheres by the test organisms exposed to contaminated waters.
Reproducibility
¡¤ Cysts of high quality produced in strictly controlled conditions preclude variability associated with recruitment/ maintenance of live stocks in conventional bioassays.
¡¤ Highly uniform quality standard freshwater is included in the kits for the control tests in uncontaminated water.
¡¤ Standardized hatching vessel and conical base test tubes constructed of biologically inert materials ensure uniform hatching and exposure conditions.
Cost-Effectiveness
¡¤ Cysts can be hatched on demand, eliminating the need and the costs of continuous culturing and maintenance of test organisms.
¡¤ Minimal equipment needed for test performance: small incubator - stereo- microscope provided with strong incident illumination - 1 ml micropipette.
¡¤ Shelf-life of cysts guaranteed for several months when stored properly, reducing test scheduling constraints.
Contents
¡¤ Tubes with cysts, flask with hatching and control water medium, hatching vessels, conical base sub-sampling and test tubes in holders, vial with red microspheres, vial with fixative, observation plates with covers, and mirror with sliding white strip.
¡¤ Detailed Standard Operational Procedure brochure, abbreviated Bench Protocol, data scoring sheets.
¡¤ Specification sheet with batch number of the cysts, standard freshwater medium, red microspheres and fixative.
User-Friendliness
¡¤ Very simple handlings and scorings.
¡¤ Total performance time of the assay from 30 to 90 minutes.
Sensitivity
¡¤ Very sensitive sub lethal assay.
¡¤ More sensitive than bacterial luminescence inhibition tests for particular chemical compounds and biotoxins.
¡¤ Detection threshold for toxicants is below Human Lethal Dose (HLD) which makes the Rapidtoxkit particularly suited for assessment of (accidental or deliberate) water contamination threats.
Supporting equipment
¡¤ The ¡°availability¡± of the live test organisms can be selected with the aid of the ¡°Mini Toxkit Incubator¡± which allows programming the exact hatching time of the cysts up to 4 days in advance.
¡¤ A low cost ring light with holder has been developed specifically for the Rapidtoxkit for the observation of the test organisms under the stereomicroscope.
