 | Assay: Encyclopedia - Assay
Assay
An assay is a procedure where the concentration of a component part of a mixture is determined.
There are numerous applications of an assay, such as an antigen capture assay, bioassay, competitive protein binding assay, four-point assay, immunoassay, microbiological assay, stem cell assay, and many others.
Assay - In the laboratory
Assays are regularly utilized in scientific research laboratories.
Assay - DNA
Assays for studying interactions of protein with DNA include:
- DNase footprinting assay
- electron microscopy
- filter binding
- gel shift assay
Assay - Protein
- Bicinchoninic acid assay (better known as the BCA assay)
- Bradford protein assay
- Lowry protein assay
- Secretion assay
- UV spectroscopy
Assay - Cytotoxicity
Assays for studying how toxic a compound is to cells:
- MTT assay
- SRB (Sulforhodamine B) assay
Assay - Viruses
The number of viruses present in a sample can be determined using a viral plaque assay. This technique requires counting the number of plaques formed by a virus sample, from which the actual virus concentration can be determined.
Assay - Cellular secretions
A wide range of cellular secretions (say, a specific antibody or cytokine) can be detected using the ELISA technique. The number of cells which secrete those particular substances can be determined using a related technique, the ELISPOT assay.
Assay - Drugs
Illegal drug testing
Assay - Environmental contaminants
- Lead
- Coliform bacteria
- Arsenic
Assay - Coins
An assayer is often assigned to each mint to determine and assure that all coins produced there have the correct content or purity of each metal in them. This is particularly important with gold and silver coins.
Assay - Precious metals
Precious metals, platinum, gold and silver, used in jewellery, silverware and other items, are assayed to test the purity of the metal.
This is done in the UK by an Assay Office. Once an item has been assayed, it is usually hallmarked to the relevant standard.
Other related archivesArsenic, Assay Office, Bicinchoninic acid assay, Bradford protein assay, Coliform bacteria, DNA, DNase footprinting assay, ELISA, ELISPOT, Illegal drug testing, Lead, Lowry protein assay, MTT assay, Secretion assay, UV, antibody, coins, concentration, content, cytokine, electron microscopy, gel shift assay, gold, hallmarked, interactions, jewellery, laboratories, metal, mint, mixture, platinum, protein, purity, silver, silverware, spectroscopy, viral plaque, viruses
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Assay", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
