In order to remedy the defects of the luminescent
test, biosensors based on microorganisms combined with
electrochemical measurements have been developed (Ertl
et al., 2003; Catterall et al., 2010; Chen et al., 2010), which
provide a total biological toxicity based on the inhibition
effect in the respiratory chain activity of microorganisms
by toxicants even if the toxicity of some new compounds
is not known.