Revision of biological methods for determination of EDC presence and their endocrine potential.

Endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDC) are chemicals responsible for disturbances in the hormonal balance of organisms. This group of chemicals includes both egzogenic and endogenic substances or their mixtures that impact functioning of natural hormones in organisms. In the available literature one can find information on the application of chromatographic and related techniques in the analysis of environmental samples for detection, identification, and quantitation of a wide spectrum of chemicals posing endocrine properties. On the other hand, more and more biotests are being developed to determine endocrine potency of environmental samples due to development of genetic engineering methods and specific detection methods of cells' response to the action of particular chemicals of interest. This article presents revisions of the most novel methods for this potency determination with application to biological elements.