Toxicity of diphenylamine and some of its nitrated and aminated derivatives to the luminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri.

Aqueous samples containing various nitrated and aminated diphenylamine derivatives were subjected to the luminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri NRRL-B-11177 to determine their ecotoxicological potential. As the most important toxicological parameter, EC50, the concentration needed to reduce bacterial luminescence by 50%, was calculated. All compounds tested must be classified to the category "very toxic to aquatic organisms" using the widely accepted classification scheme of D. Strupp, H.P. Lühr, H. T. Grunder, J. Gerdesmann, and J. Ahlers (1990, UWSF--Z. Umweltchem. Okotox. 2, 151-156). Only 2, 4-diaminodiphenylamine can be classified as "less toxic to aquatic organisms". EC50 values after 30, 60, and 90 min of incubation of the test compounds are presented. For many of the compounds tested in this study there are no toxicological data in the literature.