Bioassay: A Computerized Approach

Increased restrictions on the discharge of potentially harmful substances into the environment has led to a rise in the complexity of toxic effluent assessment. Costly, labor intensive protocols, such as the biological assay, are presently utilized in the determination of the possible effects of discharge materials. In response to these problems a computer-aided bioassay laboratory was designed and constructed. The laboratory employs a minicomputer with 32K words of memory and an analog-to-digital/digital- to-analog converter in the control and monitoring of experimental parameters. The major problems of limited device control and extensive system wiring, were solved by interfacing a commercially available remote control device to the computer. This device increased control ability by 880% and greatly reduced system wiring. With the ability to monitor and control experimental parameters the computer has become a part of a dynamic feedback loop, greatly increasing experimental reliability and reducing the labor and cost of experiments.