The definitive compendium of bioassay procedures and applications A virtual encyclopedia of key bioassay protocols, this up-to-date, essential resource reviews the methods and applications of bioassays that quantify drug activity and evaluate the validity of pharmacological models. Demonstrating the specific ways in which various pharmaceutical bioassays interpret the activity of drug molecules, the book covers the evaluation and screening of drug compounds in a wide spectrum of therapeutic categories. Throughout, the authors use various models to link experimental observations with findings that clarify the effect of drug compounds on cellular biology and measure the pharmacological activity of chemical substances. This provides an important technological platform for successful drug research and clinical therapy, making Pharmaceutical Bioassays an ideal sourcebook for pharmacologists, pharmaceutical and medical researchers, analytical chemists, toxicologists, and students. Just as a fundamental knowledge of pharmaceutical bioassays is vital to understanding how bioactive agents and new drugs are defined, discovered, and developed, so too is this indispensable reference, which: Offers a complete reference on pharmaceutical bioassays and their specific applications in the assessment of therapies for cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, epilepsy, inflammation, antimalarials, pharmacogenomics, and other major therapeutic areas Covers bioassays that measure toxicity, including those for chemical toxicity and hepatoxicity—a particularly significant consideration in the development of safe and tolerable medications Highlights clinically relevant methods, ideas, and techniques to support any pharmaceutical researcher Suggests guidelines and systems to enhance communication between pharmacologists, chemists, and biologists Provides an informative analysis of pharmaceutical bioassay technologies and lab applications

Bioassays: Advanced Methods and Applications provides a thorough understanding of the applications of bioassays in monitoring toxicity in aquatic ecosystems. It reviews the newest tests and applications in discovering compounds and toxins in the environment, covering all suitable organisms, from bacteria, to microorganisms, to higher plants, including invertebrates and vertebrates. By learning about newer tests, water pollution control testing can be less time and labor consuming, and less expensive. This book will be helpful for anyone working in aquatic environments or those who need an introduction to ecotoxicology or bioassays, from investigators, to technicians and students. - Features chapters written by internationally renowned researchers in the field, all actively involved in the development and application of bioassays - Gives the reader an understanding of the advantages and deficiencies of available tests - Addresses the problem of understanding the impact of toxins in an aquatic environment and how to assess them

This volume provides background theory and practical protocols for bioassays of bacteria, viruses, fungi and nematodes that can be used as biological control agents against insect pests of agricultural and medical importance.

The goal of an activity-directed isolation process is to isolate bioactive compounds which may provide structural leads of therapeutic importance. Whereas the traditional process of drug development is long and expensive, simple and rapid bioassays can serve as the starting point for drug discovery. This book presents a range of "bench top" bioassa

This detailed book explores protocols for a wide array of preclinical pharmacology and toxicology evaluations to be applied to chemical drugs and their development through in vitro, involving tissues and cell lines, and in vivo models, using animals as experimental systems, utilized to conduct pharmacological research. Written for the Springer Protocols Handbooks series, the methodologies included in this collection have been standardized by the authors through extensive use in the lab so that they are ready to be applied in the labs of readers around the world. Authoritative and practical, Bioassays in Experimental and Preclinical Pharmacology aims to assist undergraduate and postgraduate students, research scholars, scientists, and other academicians performing research in the vital field of drug discovery.

The Statistics of Bioassay: With Special Reference to the Vitamins, Volume II focuses on the processes, reactions, principles, and approaches involved in the biological assay of vitamins. The publication first offers information on the general principles of biological assay, dosage-response curve and its error, and designs for segregating nonrandom variation. Discussions focus on replacement of missing values, randomized groups, calculation of the line, analysis of the variation about the line, comparative biological assays, analytical biological assays, and determination of activity. The text then ponders on measurement of relative potency and correction of quantitative variables. The manuscript takes a look at assays where the variation in response is a function of the dose and slope-ratio assays. Topics include microbiological assays and the slope-ratio technique, analysis of balanced slope-ratio assays, analysis of assays with an all-or-none response, and graded response with unequal variance. The publication then tackles multiple or repeated assays, including quality control in repeated assays and combination of independent assays of a single unknown. The publication is a valuable source of information for researchers interested in the biological assay of vitamins.

Bioassay Methods in Natural Product Research and Drug Development contains the proceedings from the Phytochemical Society of Europe's very successful symposium on this topic, held August 24-27, 1997 in Uppsala, Sweden. In this volume, leading academic and industrial scientists discuss novel methods for assaying natural products to find new structure-activity relationships. Of key importance in this process is the availability and reliability of specific bioassay methods, but chapters also discuss chemical and biological diversity and how to dereplicate natural product extracts to increase efficiency in lead discovery. Anti-tumor, HIV-inhibitory, antiprotozoal, anti-infective and immunomodulatory natural products are discussed. Various industrial projects are presented for the first time. This volume bridges the gap between academic and industrial research and scientists, and should be required reading in drug companies and faculties of pharmacy, as well as serving scientists in pharmacognosy, pharmacology, phytochemistry, natural products and drug discovery.

Imagine a statistics book for bioassays written by a statistician. Next, imagine a statistics book for bioassays written for a layman. Bioassays with Arthropods, Third Edition offers the best of both worlds by translating the terse, precise language of the statistician into language used by the laboratory scientist. The book explains the statistical basis and analysis for each kind of quantal response bioassay in just the right amount of detail. The first two editions were a great reference for designing, conducting, and interpreting bioassays: this completely revised and updated third edition will also train the laboratory scientist to be an expert in estimation of dose response curves. New in the Third Edition: Introduces four new Windows and Apple-based computer programs (PoloJR, OptiDose, PoloMixture and PoloMulti) for the analyses of binary and multiple response analyses, respectively Replaces out-of-date GLIM examples with R program samples Includes a new chapter, Population Toxicology, and takes a systems approach to bioassays Expands the coverage of invasive species and quarantine statistics Building on the foundation set by the much-cited first two editions, the authors clearly delineate applications and ideas that are exceptionally challenging for those not already familiar with their use. They lead you through the methods with such ease and organization, that you suddenly find yourself readily able to apply concepts that you never thought you would understand. To order the PoloSuite computer software described in Bioassays with Arthropods, Third Edition, use the order form found at www.leora-software.com or contact the LeOra Software Company at [email protected].

The scientific basis, inference assumptions, regulatory uses, and research needs in risk assessment are considered in this two-part volume. The first part, Use of Maximum Tolerated Dose in Animal Bioassays for Carcinogenicity, focuses on whether the maximum tolerated dose should continue to be used in carcinogenesis bioassays. The committee considers several options for modifying current bioassay procedures. The second part, Two-Stage Models of Carcinogenesis, stems from efforts to identify improved means of cancer risk assessment that have resulted in the development of a mathematical dose-response model based on a paradigm for the biologic phenomena thought to be associated with carcinogenesis.

Cytokines are pleiotropic regulatory proteins involved in essentially all biological processes and associated with a wide variety of diseases, including inflammatory disorders as well as many types of cancer and leukemia. Knowledge about the quantitative and qualitative nature of cytokine production is critical in the understanding of normal and pathological processes. The cytokine detection in biological and clinical samples faces many challenges including their low abundance, the need to distinguish between active and latent cytokine forms, and the need to measure multiple cytokines in a single assay. This volume will provide a comprehensive collection of classic and cutting-edge methodologies that are currently used to analyze and quantify cytokines and their biological activities in complex biological and clinical samples. The chapters are divided into four main categories. The first group focuses on the immunodetection of released cytokines in tissue culture supernatants, plasma, serum and whole blood samples by immunoassays. These immunoassays measure the total concentrations of released cytokines regardless of their biological activity and include ELISA, flow cytometry, ELISPOT and the antibody-based proximity ligation. The second group will focus on the analysis of biologically active cytokines by bioassays using neutralizing antibodies, chemotaxis assay, cytokine-induced cell degranulation assay, cell proliferation and differentiation, cytokine-induced cytokine production and the radioreceptor cytokine assay. The third group focuses on the analysis of intracellular cytokines by flow cytometry, western blotting and fluorescence and confocal microscopy. In addition, this category includes protocols for quantitative analysis of cytokine gene expression by real time RT-PCR and analysis of the cytokine promoter occupancy by chromatin immunoprecipitation. The fourth group focuses on the recently developed multiplex arrays that can measure multiple cytokines in the same sample at the same time. This group includes quantification of multiple cytokines using cytometric bead arrays, ELISPOT assays, proteomics cytokine evaluation, multiplexed proximity ligation assays for high-throughput cytokine analysis and finally, cytokine gene expression analysis by gene arrays. The protocols will be written by experienced basic and clinical researchers with hands-on knowledge of the described protocols. By covering a broad variety of methods used in cytokine detection and analysis, this book will be of interest not only to biochemists, molecular biologists and immunologists but also to physician-scientists working in the field of cytokine research.