Title: Assessment of Fluorinated Chemicals (FCs) on Developmental Toxicity in Embryonic Zebrafish.

Fluorinated chemicals (FCs) have been used since the 1950s in many industrial and commercial applications because of their unique properties such as chemical inertness, resistance to heat and their ability to repel water and oils. Concerns regarding potential environmental or human health risk from FCs exposure have emerged due to these chemicals being persistent in the environment and can bioaccumulate in animal tissues. Early life stages are often sensitive to chemical insult, so it is essential to determine if FCs are developmentally toxic. 41 structurally diverse FCs, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), were screened for potential developmental toxicity using an embryonic zebrafish bioassay. In initial studies, developmental responses to waterborne exposure to FCs were determined using a range of concentrations (0.01-200 ng/mL), including levels that are relevant to the environment. The majority of the FCs tested did not elicit any adverse developmental responses. However, increased embryonic malformations were observed in animals exposed to 17 FCs. Since the embryonic dose cannot be inferred from waterborne exposures, six FCs that are most commonly studied were also microinjected into the embryonic zebrafish with three doses (0.00002, 0.00024, 0.00245 mg/kg). Three of thes