Toxicity estimation of phenolic compounds by bioluminescent bacterium

Phenolic compounds are environmentally important due to their extensive use in various industries, presence in wastewaters, and potential toxicity. When phenolic compounds reach the activated sludge processes of publicly owned treatment works, they can cause upsets in the operations of the treatment plants. A continuous toxicity testing system was developed based on the bioluminescent bacterium Shk1. The toxicities of 23 phenolic compounds to Shk1 were studied and the 5 min EC50 values were obtained. Quantitative structure-activity relationship models based on the logarithm of the octanol-water partitioning coefficient [log(K-ow)] were established for estimating the toxicity of phenolic compounds and the model validity was verified.