Key Considerations In Choosing A Cell Viability/Cytotoxicity Assay

Monday July 09, 2007

It can be a challenging task choosing between the plethora of cell viability or cytotoxicity assays available on the market today. Assays are available to measure a variety of different cell processes that indicate either cytotoxicity (number of dead cells) or cell viability (number of live cells). There are many factors to consider when choosing a cell viability or a cytotoxicity cell-based assay and the list that follows is not exhaustive. Perhaps one of the more important considerations is sensitivity of detection. Detection sensitivity will vary with the type of cell process you choose to measure, but bear in mind that sensitivity not only depends upon the parameter being measured but also on other variables within the model system, such as the incubation time, plate format and number of cells per well. Another factor to consider when selecting an assay is convenience. Many of the assays available today have a homogeneous format and hence do not require removal of culture medium, cell washes or centrifugation steps, thus simplifying an already complex assay. Once the assay has been performed, the stability of the read out signal is another important consideration; a stable signal provides flexibility and simplifies recording results and also reduces differences when reading multiple plates. Relevant to this factor is ensuring the availability of the relevant instrumentation to detect the endpoint signal (e.g. absorbance, fluorescence or luminescence). Finally, another important consideration when choosing an assay is whether it is amenable to multiplexing, the ability to gather more than one set of data from the same assay. This may contribute to saving time and effort, providing controls and eliminating the need to repeat work. Check out the products below to get started on your search for the assay that best suits your needs.

Boyd Scott
Senior Research Scientist
Vitae Pharmaceuticals

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Company	BACHEM	Promega	Promega	Roche Applied Science	Roche Applied Science
Item	Cytotoxicity Bioluminescence Assay Kit, aCella™	Cell viability Luminescent Assay Kit, CellTiter-Glo®	Cell Proliferation Colorimetric Assay Kit, CellTiter 96®	Cell Death (cytoplasmic histone-associated DNA fragments) ELISA Assay Kit, PLUS	Cell Proliferation Immunofluorescence Assay Kit
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Description	A bioluminescent, non-radioactive, highly sensitive cytotoxicity assay using patented coupled luminescent technology for the detection of cytotoxicity (U.S. Patent No. 6,811,990, M.J.Corey and R.J.Kinders, issued November 2, 2004)... more	The CellTiter-Glo® Luminescent Cell Viability Assay(a,b) is a homogeneous method of determining the number of viable cells in culture based on quantitation of the ATP present, an indicator of metabolically active cells... more	The CellTiter 96® AQueous One Solution Cell Proliferation Assay(a) is a colorimetric method for determining the number of viable cells in proliferation, cytotoxicity or chemosensitivity assays... more	Photometric enzyme immunoassay for the quantitative in vitro determination of cytoplasmic histone-associated DNA fragments (mono- and oligonucleosomes) after induced cell death. more	The In Situ Cell Proliferation Kit, FLUOS belongs to the second generation of improved kits for the detection of DNA synthesis at the single-cell level (in situ) by immunocyto-/immunohistochemistry... more
Catalog Number	S-9088.0500	G7570	G3580	11920685001	11810740001
Size	Request Info	Request Info	Request Info	Request Info	Request Info
Detection	luminescence	luminescence	Colorimetric	Colorimetric	Request Info
Method	Bioluminescence	Luminescent	Colorimetric	ELISA	Immunofluorescence
Sample Type	Mammalian cell lines or bacterial cells	Live Cells	Live Cells	Request Info	Request Info
Category	Misc. Viability/Proliferation/Cytotoxicity Assays (High Throughput Screening)	Misc. Viability/Proliferation/Cytotoxicity Assays (High Throughput Screening)	Misc. Viability/Proliferation/Cytotoxicity Assays	Misc. Viability/Proliferation/Cytotoxicity Assays	Misc. Viability/Proliferation/Cytotoxicity Assays
Detection Target	Cytotoxicity	Cell viability	Cell Proliferation	Cell Death (cytoplasmic histone-associated DNA fragments)	Cell Proliferation
Assay Time	Request Info	10 minutes	Request Info	3 - 4 hours	Request Info
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