MTT assay

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MTT assay is a laboratory test and a standard colorimetric assay (an assay which measures changes in color) for measuring cellular proliferation (cell growth). It is used to determine cytotoxicity of potential medicinal agents and other toxic materials.

Yellow MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, a tetrazole) is reduced to purple formazan in the mitochondria of living cells. A solubilization solution (usually either dimethyl sulfoxide or a solution of the detergent sodium dodecyl sulfate in dilute hydrochloric acid) is added to dissolve the insoluble purple formazan product into a colored solution. The absorbance of this colored solution can be quantified by measuring at a certain wavelength (usually between 500 and 600 nm) by a spectrophotometer.

This reduction takes place only when mitochondrial reductase enzymes are active, and therefore conversion is directly related to the number of viable (living) cells. When the amount of purple formazan produced by cells treated with an agent is compared with the amount of formazan produced by untreated control cells, the effectiveness of the agent in causing death of cells can be deduced, through the production of a dose-response curve.

Image:Mttscheme.png

References

  • Mosmann, T., Rapid Colorimetric Assay for Cellular Growth and Survival: Application to Proliferation and Cytotoxicity Assays. J. Immunol. Meth. 1983, 65, 55-63.
  • Wilson, A. P., Cytotoxicity and Viability Assays in Animal Cell Culture: A Practical Approach, 3rd ed. (ed. Masters, J. R. W.) Oxford University Press: oXford 2000, Vol. 1, pp 175-219.

See also

fr:Test MTT

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Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .

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