Capco Analytical Services, Inc.
1536 Eastman Ave. Suite B
Ventura, CA 93003
Phone: (805) 644-1095; Fax: (805) 644-9947
JH Biotech
250 Washington Street
Bakersfield, CA 93307
Phone:(661) 638-0210
Bioassay Analyses
A bioassay involves use of a biological organism to test for chemical toxicity. Perhaps the oldest and most commonly known example is the canary in the coal mine. Traditionally, coal miners have taken caged canaries down into the mines to help ensure a safe air supply. Canaries are more sensitive than humans to methane, an odorless gas released during the mining process, so they were used to provide an advanced warning of when methane was building up to dangerous levels in the mines. If the canary died, it meant the miners should leave the mine as quickly as possible.
Another sort of bioassay is used to test the effects of compounds being considered for use in drugs or skin care products. Before a chemical compound receives FDA approval as an ingredient in products for human use, it must be thoroughly tested on laboratory animals.
For environmental testing, bioassays provide an integrated picture of overall toxicity of an effluent or a sample of water, sediment, or soil from a contaminated site. Fathead minnows, are used for bioassays of aquatic samples (see Keddy et al., 1995, for an extensive review). The idea behind these bioassays is that the test organism will react in a predictable way to various types of environmental contaminants.
Types of Bioassays offered at Capco
96-hour LC50 Screen
96-hour LC50 Definitive
Bellow is a current picture of the Bioassay room.
A bioassay involves use of a biological organism to test for chemical toxicity. Perhaps the oldest and most commonly known example is the canary in the coal mine. Traditionally, coal miners have taken caged canaries down into the mines to help ensure a safe air supply. Canaries are more sensitive than humans to methane, an odorless gas released during the mining process, so they were used to provide an advanced warning of when methane was building up to dangerous levels in the mines. If the canary died, it meant the miners should leave the mine as quickly as possible.
Another sort of bioassay is used to test the effects of compounds being considered for use in drugs or skin care products. Before a chemical compound receives FDA approval as an ingredient in products for human use, it must be thoroughly tested on laboratory animals.
For environmental testing, bioassays provide an integrated picture of overall toxicity of an effluent or a sample of water, sediment, or soil from a contaminated site. Fathead minnows, are used for bioassays of aquatic samples (see Keddy et al., 1995, for an extensive review). The idea behind these bioassays is that the test organism will react in a predictable way to various types of environmental contaminants.
Types of Bioassays offered at Capco
96-hour LC50 Screen
96-hour LC50 Definitive
Bellow is a current picture of the Bioassay room.
