The bicinchoninic acid assay (BCA assay), also known as the Smith assay, after its inventor, Paul K. Smith at the Pierce Chemical Company,[1] now part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, is a biochemical assay for determining the total concentration of protein in a solution (0.5 μg/mL to 1.5 mg/mL), similar to Lowry protein assay, Bradford protein assay or biuret reagent. The total protein concentration is exhibited by a color change of the sample solution from blue to purple in proportion to protein concentration, which can then be measured using colorimetric techniques. The BCA assay was patented by Pierce Chemical Company in 1989 & the patent expired in 2006.[2]
- ^ Smith, P.K.; et al. (1985). "Measurement of protein using bicinchoninic acid". Anal. Biochem. 150 (1): 76–85. doi:10.1016/0003-2697(85)90442-7. PMID 3843705.
- ^ "US4839295A - Measurement of protein using bicinchoninic acid". Google Patents. 1987-05-26. Retrieved 2023-04-09.