| abstract |
Toxicological test to determine the effect of a pollutant on nitrogen metabolism and protein synthesis in living material, namely meristematic plant tissue (epicotyl sections or root tips), microorganisms or animal cells or tissues, comprises incubating the living material with a <15>N-labelled nitrogen source (nitrate, ammonium or amino acid) in the presence and absence of the pollutant under standardised conditions for a fixed time, measuring the relative abundance (RA) of <15>N by isotope analysis of the living material or a protein fraction of the material, and calculating the RA(test)/RA(control) quotient. |