M. Nendza - Böcker

This is a handbook for researchers and professional ecotoxicologists working on problems where there is sparse information on environmental toxins. It explains predictive mechanisms for obtaining information on likely outcomes based on the chemical structure of the compounds involved. Since Structure-Activity Relationships can be used as a predictive means to obtain information on chemicals if these are not available from experiments, these data can then be used for environmental fate and effects predictions and eventually for risk assessments. The multidisciplinary approach combines chemistry, biology, ecology, statistics and further related sciences, providing the reader with a theoretical basis as well as practical applications. This book should be of interest to environmental chemists, ecotoxicologists, environmental health workers, environmental risk assessors, chemists, and ecologists.

Structure-Activity Relationships in Environmental Science is the first book of its kind that brings together information from a variety of sources into one document. It provides a comprehensive overview of the entire field of quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) as well as being a reference for SAR experts. The book comprises three parts. Part One covers the theoretical background of structure-activity studies and Part Two deals with the practical applications of such methods in the environmental sciences. Part Three critically discusses SAR models with respect to their reliability and their aptness in environmental hazard and risk assessment. Recommendations are made as to which model to use and the case is presented for using QSARs in hazard assessment. The use of QSARs is becoming increasingly important since there is little experimental data available on environmentally relevant chemicals. Structure-Activity Relationships in Environmental Sciences will thus serve as an invaluable guide to both postgraduate and research scientists as well as professional ecologists.