Systematic Toxicity Screening and Developmental Hazard Assessment of Electronic Display-Related Organic Materials

Electronic display-related organic materials (DROMs) are widely used in modern displays but remain largely overlooked as environmental contaminants. Here, we constructed the first comprehensive inventory of Chinese-produced DROMs by integrating data from public registries, corporate disclosures, patents, and Chemical Book listings, identifying 1,551 compounds and mapping their nationwide production distribution. In silico screening with T.E.S.T. and OPERA models across eight toxicological end points prioritized 117 substances with high predicted hazard potential. Of these, 46 were tested in zebrafish embryos encompassing diverse developmental end points, revealing that 24 (52.2%) induced significant toxicity at concentrations as low as 0.1 μM. These toxicants fell into six structural classes: fluorobenzenes, bromobenzenes, cyanobiphenyls, fluorenes, anthracenes, and bathocuproine, each displaying characteristic hazard profiles. Fluorobenzenes and cyanobiphenyls triggered broad developmental disruptions, whereas bromobenzenes primarily impaired pigmentation and behavior. Bathocuproine caused concentration-dependent lethality and severe multiorgan edema, while fluorenes and anthracenes heightened tactile responsiveness and reduced larval body length. Notably, 22 of these compounds have been detected in environmental matrices or human biomonitoring studies at levels approaching those causing toxicity in vivo, underscoring their environmental relevance. Collectively, this study reveals unrecognized developmental hazards associated with DROMs, providing critical preliminary data to inform future risk assessment and safer chemical design efforts.