Application of Photobacterium phosphoreum to toxicity assessment of phenylthio-carboxylates

Abstract Acute toxicities (15min-EC 50 ) of 18 phenylthio-carboxylates to Photobacterium phosphoreum were detemined. A quantitative structure-activity relationship was developed based on Hansch's equation, which showed that the toxicity is influenced mainly by the lipophility and electronic effects. The toxic ratio values were calculated from these experimental and the predicted EC 50 (baseline toxicity) from the octanol/water partition coefficients, which showed that these compounds are belong to nonspecifically acting chemicals, and the possible mode of toxic action to Photobacterium phosphoreum is discussed.