A bioassay is an analytical method that is used to determine the potency or concentration of a substance by its effect on tissues or living cells. It is also a quantitative biological assay that is used to estimate the relative potency of a compound by observing either in vivo which is through the effect on living cells or in vitro which is through tissue or cell culture system. It can be either direct or indirect and quantitative or qualitative. Biological hazards can be detected by using bioassay method.
It also gives quality assessment of a mixture. Bioassay is often used in monitoring water quality and sewage discharge and its impact on surrounding. It is also used to assess the environmental impact and safety of new technologies and facilities.
To access the quality of water, various in vitro bioassays are introduced. Many studies and publications are done for in vitro bioassays. These studies have shown the suitability of in vitro bioassays to assess water quality and demonstrated the added benefit of more comprehensive water quality evaluation.
Firstly, in order to overcome limitation caused by SPE, specialized methods are required to trap chemicals based on physical-chemical properties and not one extraction/concentration procedure will isolate all chemicals within a complex aqueous mixture. In consequence, multi-layer SPE cartridges with several different sorbents to capture chemicals with a wide range of physiochemical properties have recently been applied to extract water samples for bioanalysis.
Secondly, in vitro bioassays can expand analytical universe a little further into the unknown, thereby providing a more comprehensive evaluation of water quality and more rapidly identifying substances which may pose a risk to public health.
Thirdly, issues with loss of chemicals by sample preparation can be overcame. While SPE pre-concentration is commonly used when applying in vitro bioassays to environmental water samples, the availability of powdered cell culture media means that it is possible to dose un-extracted water samples for testing at a relative enrichment factor (REF) close to 1 (an REF of 1 means an undiluted sample, with an REF > 1 indicating a concentrated sample and an REF < 1 a diluted sample). In a recent study, Niss et al. (2018) applied this approach and were able to detect a range of responses in the water samples, including estrogenicity and aryl hydrocarbon activity.
Fourth is introduction of in vitro bioassays that are able to detect a wider range of contaminants. While the response of these assays cannot be simply translated into a chemical equivalent, there are several proposals to develop meaningful and implementable trigger values and practical operational responses to bioassay results.
Fifth, an important aspect in the application of bioassays in water quality assessment is the development of response mechanisms for positive results. One proposed method is the development of benchmark values which have been termed Effects Based Trigger values (EBT). Various approaches have been proposed to derive EBTs. However, they often produce comparable EBTs for the same endpoints.
In vitro bioassays are often used for water quality screening. Some of the most mature bioassays are ready to be employed for screening water samples for specific types of toxicity such as estrogens and AhR agonists. The use of bioassays can help to build public support by providing more comprehensive screening of unknown water constituents with endpoints based on human health relevance. In vitro bioassays cannot determine specific compounds responsible for observed bioactivity and are meant to augment, not replace, existing targeted instrumental assessments.
In vitro bioassays could be used for different purposes in water quality assessment, including comparing the quality of different water sources, the efficacy of treatment technologies, and the ultimate chemical quality of drinking water. It is important to reemphasize that in vitro bioassays should be considered as a step forward in more comprehensive water assessment rather than a panacea that will replace analytical monitoring and in vivo animal testing. While limitations surely do exist, in vitro bioassays greatly expand the ability to detect contaminants relevant to human and environmental health, and while these tools were still unable to determine whether water is “safe”, their application will make water “safer”.
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