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==Origin==
[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English], from Anglo-French ''assai'', ''essai''
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_century 14th Century]
According to [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=assay Etymology Online] the verb assay, at least since the 13th century meant "to try, endeavor, strive; test the [[quality]] of," from Anglo-Fr. assaier, from assai (n.), from O.Fr. essai "trial". And the noun assay thus means "trial, test of quality, test of [[character]]," mid-14c., from Anglo-Fr. assai and [[Meaning]] "[[analysis]]" is from late 14c. For assay of currency coins this literally meant analysis of the [[purity]] of the gold or silver or whatever precious component used to [[represent]] the true value of the coin. This might have [[translated]] later (possibly after 14th century) into a generalized [[meaning]] of analysis e.g. of important/principle component of a target inside a mixture such as active ingredient of a drug inside the inert excipients in a pharmacological formulation which originally used to be measured by its actual [[action]] on an [[organism]] (e.g. lethal dose or inhibitory dose).
==Definitions==
*1archaic : trial, attempt
*2: [[examination]] and determination as to characteristics (as weight, [[measure]], or [[quality]])
*3: [[analysis]] (as of an ore or [[drug]]) to determine the [[presence]], [[absence]], or [[quantity]] of one or more components; also : a test used in this analysis
==Description==
An '''assay''' is an [[investigative]] ([[analytic]]) procedure in [[laboratory]] medicine, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmacology pharmacology], environmental biology, and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_biology molecular biology] for qualitatively assessing or quantitatively measuring the [[presence]] or amount or the functional activity of a target [[entity]] (the ''analyte'') which can be a drug or biochemical substance or a cell in an organism or organic sample. The measured entity is generally called the ''analyte'', or the ''measurand'' or the ''target'' of the assay. The assay usually aims to [[measure]] an intensive property of the analyte and [[express]] it in the relevant measurement [[unit]] (e.g. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molarity molarity], [[density]], functional activity in enzyme international units, degree of some effect in comparison to a standard, etc.).
If the assay involves addition of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exogenous exogenous] reactants (the reagents), their [[quantities]] are kept fixed (or in excess) so that the quantity (and [[quality]]) of the target is the only limiting [[factor]] for the reaction/assay [[process]], and the [[difference]] in the assay outcome is used to deduce the [[unknown]] quality or quantity of the target in question. Some assays (e.g., biochemical assays) may be similar to or have overlap with [[chemical]] [[analysis]] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titration titration]. But generally assays involve biological material or [[phenomena]] which tend to be intrinsically more [[complex]] either in [[composition]] or in behavior or both. Thus [[reading]] of an assay may be quite [[noisy]] and may involve greater [[difficulties]] in [[interpretation]] than an accurate chemical titration. On the other hand older generation qualitative assays especially bioassays may be much more gross and less quantitative (e.g., counting [[death]] or [[dysfunction]] of an [[organism]] or cells in a [[population]], or some descriptive [[change]] in some body part of a group of animals).
In [[modern]] [[practice]] Assays have become a routine part of medical, environmental, pharmaceutical, forensic and many other [[businesses]] at various scales from [[industrial]] to curbside or field level. Those assays that have very high commercial demand have been well [[investigated]] in [[research]] and development sectors of professional industries and have gone through various [[generations]] of development of better and sophisticated assays that have become copyrighted [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property intellectual properties] through highly competitive [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process_patent process patenting]. These kind of industrial scale assays are often done in well equipped [[laboratories]] and use high level of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automation automation] in organizing the [[procedure]], right from ordering of an assay, to pre-analytic sample processing (sample collection, necessary [[manipulations]] e.g. spinning for separation or other processes, aliquoting if necessary, storage, retrieval, pipetting/aspiration etc.) and are generally tested in high thruput AutoAnalyzers and the results are verified, and transmitted automatically back to the ordering service providers and the end users. These are made possible through use of advanced [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laboratory_informatics_system Laboratory informatics system] that interfaces with multiple [[computer]] terminals with end users as well as central servers and the physical autoanalyser instruments and other [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automata automata].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assay]
[[Category: Biology]]
[[Category: General Reference]]
==Origin==
[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English], from Anglo-French ''assai'', ''essai''
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_century 14th Century]
According to [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=assay Etymology Online] the verb assay, at least since the 13th century meant "to try, endeavor, strive; test the [[quality]] of," from Anglo-Fr. assaier, from assai (n.), from O.Fr. essai "trial". And the noun assay thus means "trial, test of quality, test of [[character]]," mid-14c., from Anglo-Fr. assai and [[Meaning]] "[[analysis]]" is from late 14c. For assay of currency coins this literally meant analysis of the [[purity]] of the gold or silver or whatever precious component used to [[represent]] the true value of the coin. This might have [[translated]] later (possibly after 14th century) into a generalized [[meaning]] of analysis e.g. of important/principle component of a target inside a mixture such as active ingredient of a drug inside the inert excipients in a pharmacological formulation which originally used to be measured by its actual [[action]] on an [[organism]] (e.g. lethal dose or inhibitory dose).
==Definitions==
*1archaic : trial, attempt
*2: [[examination]] and determination as to characteristics (as weight, [[measure]], or [[quality]])
*3: [[analysis]] (as of an ore or [[drug]]) to determine the [[presence]], [[absence]], or [[quantity]] of one or more components; also : a test used in this analysis
==Description==
An '''assay''' is an [[investigative]] ([[analytic]]) procedure in [[laboratory]] medicine, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmacology pharmacology], environmental biology, and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_biology molecular biology] for qualitatively assessing or quantitatively measuring the [[presence]] or amount or the functional activity of a target [[entity]] (the ''analyte'') which can be a drug or biochemical substance or a cell in an organism or organic sample. The measured entity is generally called the ''analyte'', or the ''measurand'' or the ''target'' of the assay. The assay usually aims to [[measure]] an intensive property of the analyte and [[express]] it in the relevant measurement [[unit]] (e.g. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molarity molarity], [[density]], functional activity in enzyme international units, degree of some effect in comparison to a standard, etc.).
If the assay involves addition of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exogenous exogenous] reactants (the reagents), their [[quantities]] are kept fixed (or in excess) so that the quantity (and [[quality]]) of the target is the only limiting [[factor]] for the reaction/assay [[process]], and the [[difference]] in the assay outcome is used to deduce the [[unknown]] quality or quantity of the target in question. Some assays (e.g., biochemical assays) may be similar to or have overlap with [[chemical]] [[analysis]] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titration titration]. But generally assays involve biological material or [[phenomena]] which tend to be intrinsically more [[complex]] either in [[composition]] or in behavior or both. Thus [[reading]] of an assay may be quite [[noisy]] and may involve greater [[difficulties]] in [[interpretation]] than an accurate chemical titration. On the other hand older generation qualitative assays especially bioassays may be much more gross and less quantitative (e.g., counting [[death]] or [[dysfunction]] of an [[organism]] or cells in a [[population]], or some descriptive [[change]] in some body part of a group of animals).
In [[modern]] [[practice]] Assays have become a routine part of medical, environmental, pharmaceutical, forensic and many other [[businesses]] at various scales from [[industrial]] to curbside or field level. Those assays that have very high commercial demand have been well [[investigated]] in [[research]] and development sectors of professional industries and have gone through various [[generations]] of development of better and sophisticated assays that have become copyrighted [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property intellectual properties] through highly competitive [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process_patent process patenting]. These kind of industrial scale assays are often done in well equipped [[laboratories]] and use high level of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automation automation] in organizing the [[procedure]], right from ordering of an assay, to pre-analytic sample processing (sample collection, necessary [[manipulations]] e.g. spinning for separation or other processes, aliquoting if necessary, storage, retrieval, pipetting/aspiration etc.) and are generally tested in high thruput AutoAnalyzers and the results are verified, and transmitted automatically back to the ordering service providers and the end users. These are made possible through use of advanced [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laboratory_informatics_system Laboratory informatics system] that interfaces with multiple [[computer]] terminals with end users as well as central servers and the physical autoanalyser instruments and other [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automata automata].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assay]
[[Category: Biology]]
[[Category: General Reference]]