A new in vitro toxicity test based on the response to toxic substances in solutions of mitochondria from beef heart.

A simple, rapid and inexpensive in vitro method which may be used as a biological sensor for the valuation of toxicity of chemical compounds in water is proposed. The method utilizes the response of the respiratory chain of beef heart mitochondria to a wide range of toxic substances. By means of simple voltametric measurements, the method not only gives an indication of toxicity in water but, by using different substrates of the respiratory chain and exploiting some features of the toxic substances, it also allows selective detection of some toxic substance or groups of substances. Since the method reproduces the standard "rainbow trout" test, it may also be proposed as a screening test to precede whole bioorganisms bioassays or as a method to assess the presence of certain toxic substances in water.