Toxicant
A toxicant (or toxic)[1] is a chemical compound that has an effect on organisms.
A distinction can be drawn between "toxic" and toxin, with the latter being a subcategory of the former.[1]
Many toxicants are pesticides, or are unwanted by-products of some production process, or accidental spoils.
"Toxicant" can be considered a synonym for poisonous, while "developmental toxicant" can be considered a synonym for teratogen.[2]
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[edit] Concentration range
The effects depend on the concentration of the compound.
Generally three concentration ranges can be delineated of all chemical compounds
- too little: the metabolic behaviour deviates more from the natural behaviour for decreasing concentrations
- enough: the metabolic behaviour is rather insensitive to changes in the concentration
- too much: the metabolic behaviour deviates more from the natural behaviour for increasing concentrations
[edit] Effects
The effect of toxicants can be quantified on the basis of the concentration inside the organism. The Dynamic Energy Budget theory can be used to specify the mode of action of the compound for the individual organism under study: one or more parameters of the DEB model change as function of the internal concentration.
[edit] Pesticides
Some toxicants are specifically developed to fight pests,the so-called pesticides such as
- insecticides to kill insects
- herbicides to kill weeds,
- food conservation products to kill micro-organisms
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Poisonous Coinage : CJR:". http://www.cjr.org/language_corner/poisonous_coinage.php. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
- ^ "toxicant" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
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