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Dissertation
Chemical toxicity to environmental bacteria: quantitative structure activity relationships and interspecies correlations and comparisons
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
Mar 1989
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00000483
Abstract
A chemical's toxicity to bacteria is important for evaluating the chemical's potential impact on the environment and for what it may indicate about toxicity to higher organisms. Toxicity data were collected for four groups of bacteria and a fish. These data were used to compare and correlate the toxicities to different organisms, and to develop Quantitative Structure Activity Relationships (QSARs) correlating chemical structure with toxicity. Chemical toxicity to aerobic heterotrophic bacteria, Nitrosomonas, and methanogens were measured using serum bottle techniques in order to determine the concentration of chemical which caused 50% inhibition in microorganism's activity. Toxicity to Photobacteria phosphoreum (Microtox bacteria) and fathead minnows was also tested or data collected from the literature. Toxicants included chlorinated and other substituted benzenes and phenols, chlorinated alkanes, and a variety of additional compounds covering a range of chemical structures. Data were obtained for 50 to 130 chemicals per species. The sensitivity of the organisms fell into two groups with Microtox bacteria, Nitrosomonas, and fathead minnows showing significantly greater sensitivity than aerobic heterotrophs and methanogens. Highly successful interspecies correlations (adjusted r2 = 0.69 to 0.85) were found between Microtox and each of the other species. For each group of bacteria, QSARs were developed for chemicals exhibiting non-specific toxicity. Three QSAR methods were used and compared: Octanol/Water Partitioning, Linear Solvation Energy Relationships, and Molecular Connectivity. For each group of bacteria, highly successful QSARs (adjusted r2 = 0.79 to 0.95) were found for every chemical class with only two exceptions. The correlations can be used to estimate, within approximately one order of magnitude, the toxicity of additional toxicants for the chemical classes and species studied. They provide insights into possible relationships between chemical structure and toxicity.
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Details
- Title
- Chemical toxicity to environmental bacteria
- Creators
- Diane Jean Warren Blum
- Contributors
- Richard E. Speece (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Environmental Studies Institute (1970-1997); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991014970308604721