Simplifying Data Analysis for Marine Biotoxins using R: Advancing the Neuro-2a Cell-Based Assay

Marine biotoxins produced by harmful algae are prevalent contaminants challenging global seafood safety. Their rapid detection is crucial for the protection of consumers and for preventative market surveillance. The Neuro-2a (N2a) cell-based assay is a high-throughput method designed for the detection of marine biotoxins, particularly those acting on sodium channels in excitable cells. Semi-purified extraction and accurate endpoint analysis are essential steps in going from ‘sample to analyte’, but how endpoint data is processed and interpreted is frequently overlooked and outsourced to commercial statistical software. Many research laboratories lack the necessary software training or do not have access to proprietary analytical programs or instrumentation with the ability for complex computational assessments. Therefore, the conditions for data analysis and its subsequent interpretation have not been customized to meet the specific needs and requirements for marine biotoxin detection or data throughput standardization. A lack of standardization can result in discrepancies of toxin analysis qualification or quantification. n2a is a customized R extension package developed for final toxin determination through rapid dose-response
analysis, offering an ease-of-use and free-of-charge alternative approach in analyzing endpoint data generated through the N2a-assay, ensuring streamlined and uniform analysis. The n2a-package was tested against other proprietary software packages, using output from both naturally incurred seafood samples and synthetic data.
Harmonizing, standardizing, and expediting the data analysis for the N2a-assay will bolster data comparability between research groups, while simultaneously reducing data assessment time, increasing sample throughput, and strengthening consumer health protection worldwide.