What is the primary use of bioassays?

The primary use of bioassays is to evaluate the biological activity of substances such as drugs. Bioassays are experimental procedures that use living cells or organisms to test how effective a substance is in producing a desired biological effect. This is crucial in drug development and various areas of biological research, as it allows scientists to determine potency, efficacy, and safety of new compounds. For example, a bioassay can show how well a new medication can inhibit the growth of a cancer cell line, thereby providing information on its potential effectiveness in treatments.

The other choices focus on different areas of study that are not the main focus of bioassays. For instance, determining the nutritional value of food products involves chemical analysis rather than biological testing. Measuring the physical properties of chemicals entails physical chemistry techniques, while analyzing the genetic composition of organisms would require molecular biology techniques, such as DNA sequencing or genetic mapping. These aspects, though important in their respective fields, do not align with the primary function of bioassays.