Bio-assay as the name implies is a biological process of of determining the authenticity of a biological substance using living organism ( plants or animals) when it makes use of plant and animals it is termed as “in vivo”, which means it happening inside the organism, when it is happening outside the organism it is termed “in vitro”.

Bio-assay are typical conducted To measure the effect of a substance on a living organism, and are essential in the development of new drugs and in monitoring environmental pollutants. But are procedures by which the potency or the nature of a substance is estimated by studying its effect on living matter.A bioassay can also be used to determine the concentration of a particular constitution of a mixture that may cause harmful effects on organism or the environment.below are some bioassay method conducted in the laboratory.

Bioassay can further be said to be procedures used to determine the concentration or purity or biological activity of a substance such as vitamin, hormone or plant growth factor by measuring the effect on an organism, cell tissues.

bioassay can be quantitative or qualitative.

Quantitative bioassay.

quantitative bioassay are usually analyzed using the methods of biostatistics. It has to do with the estimation of the dose or concentration of a substance associated with a specific biological response, it has to also do with how much in response a drug react at different levels, the dose response allows estimation of the does or concentration at various levels of examination.

Qualitative bioassay.

qualitative bio on the other hand helps to qualify instead of quantify. They are proved used to assess the physical effects of a substance that may not be quantified, such as seed fail to grow and develop abnormally. An example of qualitative bioassay is the Arnold Adolph Berthold’s famous experiment on castrated chickens. The experience holds that removing the testicles of a chicken, it would not develop into a rooster because the endocrine signals necessary for this process were not available.

Why do we do bioassay.

1. to determine the identity of a substance.

2. the determine the content of the substance

3. to measure the content of the substance contains

Types of bioassay.

bioassay are of two types.

1. quantal bioassay.

2.graded bioassay.

Quantal bioassay.

this type of bioassay involves and all or none response.

Graded bioassay

this type of bioassay is based on the observation that there is a proportionate increase in the observed response following an increase in the concentration or dose. The parameters employed in such bioassays are based on the nature of the effect the substance is expected to produce.

to perform a graded bioassay you can employ some of the fill procedures.

1.the precision of the assay required.

2.the quantity of the sample substance available.

3. the availability of the experimental animals.

Uses of bioassay

bioassay maybe be used for the following below.

1. for determining the degree of drug toxicity

2. determination of a drugs side effect

3.measurement of the concentration of a know substance(maybe a particular given drug).

4. investigation of functions of endogenous mediators.

5. measurement of the pharmacological activity of new chemically undefined substances.

6. determining the specificity of certain enzymes to certain substrates.

7.determining the amount of environmental pollutants being released by some particular sources such as urban runoff and waste water.

various bioassay techniques.

the following are the major bioassay techniques used.

1. matching bioassay.

2.interpolating method

3.bracketing method.

4.multiple point bioassay.( three point, four point, six point bioassay)

5.divided bioassay.

matching bioassay.

it is the simplest type of bioassay, in this type of bioassay, the test tube substance is taking first and the observed response is tried to match with the standard response. Several responses of the standard drug are recorded and till a close matching point to that of the test tube is observed. A corresponds concentration is thus calculated. This bioassay technique is applied majorly when sample size is too small.

interpolation bioassay.

this technique is used to determine the amount of the unknown potency required to produce a definite effect on suitable test animals or organs or tissues, under a given standard condition.

it’s effect is compared with that of a know standard to check if it actually give the same result as the know standard.

Below are some pictures of bioassay done in the laboratory

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