Assay sensitivity

Assay sensitivity is like being able to see really small things. Imagine you have a toy car and you want to see how fast it goes. If you use a really bad microscope, you won't be able to see the wheels moving because they are too small. But if you use a good microscope, you can see the wheels moving and you can tell how fast the car is going.

In the same way, scientists use assays to see how much of a substance is in a sample. The assay needs to be sensitive enough to detect even very small amounts of the substance. If the assay is not sensitive enough, it's like the bad microscope and you won't be able to see the substance even if it's there.

So, assay sensitivity means how well an assay can detect small amounts of a substance. It's like having a really good microscope that can see tiny things. Scientists need good assay sensitivity to be able to detect even small amounts of important substances, like drugs or disease markers, in a sample.