A systematic methodology for quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) development in environmental toxicology is provided. The methodology is summarized in a strategy with six sequential steps. The strategy rests on two cornerstones, namely (1) the use of statistical design to select a series of representative compounds (the so-called training set) on which to base a QSAR, and (2) the multivariate modelling of the relationship between physicochemical and biological properties of the training set compounds. The first step of the strategy is the division of chemicals into classes of structurally similar compounds. Briefly, steps 2 to 6 are: (2) physico-chemical and structural characterization of the compounds in a class, (3) selection of a training set of representative compounds, (4) biological testing of the selected training set, (5) QSAR model development, and (6) experimental validation of the QSAR and predictions for non-tested compounds. The thesis summarizes the results obtained from the application of the strategy to the class of halogenated aliphatic compounds. Biological measurements were made in four biological test systems, reflecting acute toxicity, mutagenicity, relative cytotoxicity and genotoxicity. QSARs were developed relating each biological endpoint to the structural descriptors of the compounds. Multivariate PLS modelling was used in the data analysis. The developed QSARs were used for predicting the biological activity pattern of the non-tested compounds in the class. These predictions may be used as a starting point for a priority ranking for further biological testing of these compounds. The strategy has not been developed solely for establishing QSARs for the halogenated aliphatics class. On the contrary, this work is intended to demonstrate a generally applicable QSAR methodology. / <p>Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Umeå universitet, 1991</p> / digitalisering@umu