Bioassay refers to an evaluation of the toxicity of an effluent or other material on living organisms such as fish, rats, insects, bacteria, or other life forms. The bioassay may be used for many purposes, including the determination of: 1) permissible wastewater discharge rates; 2) the relative sensitivities of various animals; 3) the effects of physicochemical parameters on toxicity; 4) the compliance of discharges with effluent guidelines; 5) the suitability of a drug;
6) the safety of an environment; and 7) possible synergistic or antagonistic effects.

There are those who wish to reserve the term simply for the evaluation of the potency of substances such as drugs and vitamins, but the term is commonly used as described above. Of course, there are times when it is inappropriate to use bioassay and evaluation of toxicity synonymously, as when the goal of the assay is not to evaluate toxicity.

Bioassays are conducted as static, renewal, or continuous-flow...