title: Toxicity order of cholanic acids using an immobilised cell biosensor.
abstract: There is considerable published evidence of the use of cells of various species to evaluate the toxicity of numerous compounds, many of pharmaceutical interest. The coupling of cell colonies with a suitable transduction device has led to the development in recent years of toxicity biosensors based on the alteration of a process or a cell metabolic function by the toxic substance under examination. A biosensor based on immobilised yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) has been developed recently in this department for the purpose of performing a rapid toxicity test in aqueous environmental matrices. This biosensor has now been used in the toxicity screening of a number of sodium salts of conjugated and free cholanic acids. The "toxicity degree" scale, which was found by placing in decreasing order the values of the slopes of the straight lines obtained by quantifying changes in the behaviour of the respirometric curve, plotted before and after incubation, using known concentrations of cholanic acid sodium salts, was: deoxycholic acid > chenodeoxycholic acid > ursodeoxycholic acid > cholic acid, for free cholanic acids; and glycodeoxycholic acid > glycochenodeoxycholic acid > glycocholic acid, for glycocholanic acids. These values are in good agreement with published toxicity data obtained in vitro. This sensor can thus be considered to provide a valid instrument for the preliminary evaluation of the toxicity of organic compounds or drugs.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Chemistry, University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Campanella
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Favero
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mastrofini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tomassetti
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D018914:Cells, Immobilized; D002635:Chenodeoxycholic Acid / Q000633:toxicity; D002793:Cholic Acids / Q000633:toxicity*; D003840:Deoxycholic Acid / Q000633:toxicity; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D005999:Glycochenodeoxycholic Acid / Q000633:toxicity; D006000:Glycocholic Acid / Q000633:toxicity; D006002:Glycodeoxycholic Acid / Q000633:toxicity; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae; D014580:Ursodeoxycholic Acid / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D002793:Cholic Acids; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents; D003840:Deoxycholic Acid; D002635:Chenodeoxycholic Acid; D006002:Glycodeoxycholic Acid; D005999:Glycochenodeoxycholic Acid; D014580:Ursodeoxycholic Acid; D006000:Glycocholic Acid