Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

MITOCHONDRIA AS BIOSENSORS FOR TOXICITY MEASUREMENTS IN SOLUTION

Marcantonio Bragadin and Sabrina Manente

Abstract

A procedure to measure the toxicity in solution is proposed.The procedure makes use of the inhibition of the respiratory chain of thawed beef heart mitochondria.This condition a simple procedure for routine toxicity measurements in solution, since the prepared mitochondria can be stored in a freezer for months, provided that, once thawed, the mitochondria are added of cytochrome c which restores the maximal respiratory rate similar to that of freshly prepared mitochondria. As it results from linear regression analysis, the response of this biosensor to many toxic compounds, is similar to that obtained by the Rainbow trout Fish Standard Test.