Three-components biotesting system for assessing the sanitary and chemical safety of drinking water and drinking water sources

Introduction. The use of multiple bioassays integrated into a bioassessment system can enhance the reliability and informativeness of evaluation results of toxicity for water samples.

The purpose of the work. To evaluate the effectiveness of a three-component bioassay system for assessing the sanitary and chemical safety of drinking water and drinking water sources.

Materials and Methods. This study examined samples of drinking water and water sources of drinking water supply collected in the Saratov region. The sanitary safety of the water samples was evaluated using forty five physicochemical indices. Simultaneously, sample toxicity was assessed via biotesting using a three-component bioassay system.

Results. Physicochemical analysis revealed that 56 out of 69 water samples did not comply with the hygienic standards established by SanPiN 1.2.3685–21. According to the results of biotesting, 53 samples exhibited toxic effects on one or more test organisms. Among these, 45 samples also showed exceedances of the regulatory limits for physicochemical indices, while 8 did not. Compared to the use of individual biotests, the combined application of three biotests within a three-components biotesting system demonstrated an effectiveness of 80% in detecting non-compliant samples, as identified by physicochemical analysis.

Limitations. The study is limited by the requirement for specialized equipment.

Conclusion. The results of the study demonstrated the effectiveness of bioassays for assessing the sanitary and chemical safety of drinking water and water from drinking water sources significantly to increase when test organisms are combined into a three-components system, compared to the use of individual bioassays.

Compliance with ethical standards. Study approval was provided by the Local Ethics Committee of the Saratov Hygiene Medical Research Center of the FBSI "FSC Medical and Preventive Health Risk Management Technologies" (meeting protocol No. 18 dated September 1, 2022) and was conducted in accordance with the generally accepted scientific principles of the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association (2013 revision).

Contribution:
Erdniev L.P. – the concept and design of the study, editing, collection of material, writing text;
Mikerov A.N. – editing; Kuzyanov D.A. – collection and processing of material, statistical processing, editing;
Moiseeva Ye.M. – editing;
Gusev Yu.S. – statistical processing, editing.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: July 22, 2025 / Accepted: October 15, 2025 / Published: November 14, 2025

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