Serum Bactericidal Assay

**Semantic type:** Laboratory Procedure

**Definition:** An assay to evaluate the bactericidal activity of antibodies present in serum by measuring the ability of complement and antibodies to lyse bacteria. This is performed by incubating a defined concentration of bacteria with various dilutions of serum and complement, followed by quantifying the percent bacterial survival relative to serum-negative controls. The assay assesses the functional capacity of antibodies to mediate bacterial killing through complement activation.

**Synonyms:** - Complement-Dependent Bactericidal Assay - SBA Assay - SERUM BACTERICIDAL ASSAY - Serum Bactericidal Antibody Assay