Combined Non-Invasive Cell Isolation and Neutral-Red Retention Assay for Measuring the Effects of Copper on the Lumbricid Aporrectodea rosea (Savigny).

The article cites a study which seeks to measure the effects of copper on the Lumbricid Aporrectodea rosea using combined non-invasive cell isolation and neutral-red retention assay (NRR). It also described the combination of an analogous extraction technique combined with a modified NRR assay to incorporate the advantages of non-destructiveness into a rapid cost bioassay. The study used samples of the earthworm from uncontaminated grassland site in Cambridgeshire, Great Britain. Coelomocytes showed minimal trauma and possessed a viability of more than 90 percent that was assessed using the Eosin Y test using cell survivorship. The NRR time for coelomocytes was exposed to soil copper levels showing that the response of NRR was sensitive to low metal concentrations.