Bioactivity is any effect, interaction or reaction of living cells, tissues or organisms. This effect can be beneficial or detrimental. The marine environment is an important resource to search for novel bioactive compounds. Why? Because the marine environment hosts species with yet unknown bioactive compounds that can be used in medicine, pharmaceutical, food, agricultural or feed industries. Novel bioactivities are tested using bioassays.
Ideally they have these characteristics:
- Sufficient sensitivity, allowing to work with a limited amount of compound.
- High reproducibility of results.
- Possibility to work quantitatively or qualitatively.
- Easy interpretation of results
- Easy automation and high throughput.
- Optimization of time and human resources.
