The significance of the Druckrey-Küpfmüller equation for risk assessment--the toxicity of neonicotinoid insecticides to arthropods is reinforced by exposure time.

The essence of the Druckrey-Küpfmüller equation dtn = constant (where d = daily dose and t = exposure time-to-effect, with n > 1) for chemical carcinogens is that the total dose required to produce the same effect decreases with decreasing exposure levels, even though the exposure times required to produce the same effect increase with decreasing exposure levels. Druckrey and Küpfmüller inferred that if both receptor binding and the effect are irreversible, exposure time would reinforce the effect. The Druckrey-Küpfmüller equation explains why toxicity may occur after prolonged exposure to very low toxicant levels. Recently, similar dose-response characteristics have been established for the toxicity of the neonicotinoid insecticides imidacloprid and thiacloprid to arthropods. This observation is highly relevant for environmental risk assessment. Traditional approaches that consider toxic effects at fixed exposure times are unable to allow extrapolation from measured endpoints to effects that may occur at other times of exposure. Time-to-effect approaches that provide information on the doses and exposure times needed to produce toxic effects on tested organisms are required for prediction of toxic effects for any combination of concentration and time in the environment.