AhR Bioassay for Environmental Sample Monitoring

The principal application of this Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor bioassay is to screen processed environmental samples, with the aim of quantifying the aggregate bioactivities, if any, of contaminating biohazardous chemical entities. Contaminants of particular concern include the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (HAHs) such as dioxin, dioxin-like chemicals, and PCBs. This assay utilizes proprietary mammalian reporter cells expressing the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR; AHR) and a luciferase reporter gene functionally linked to an AhR-responsive promoter. Thus, quantifying changes in luciferase expression in the treated reporter cells provides a sensitive surrogate measure of the changes in AhR activity.