Bioassay for toxic substances.

摘要

An assay method is disclosed to test for the presence of toxic substances in environmental samples. The assay uses a suspension of mitochondrial membranes carrying enzymes which can be driven by reverse electron transfer to reduce NAD+ to NADH. The competency of the mitochondrial membrane to accomplish this reduction in the presence of the environmental sample is measured spectrophotometrically to test for toxicants.