JBUON 2018; 23(5): 1505-1513 ISSN: 1107-0625, online ISSN: 2241-6293 • www.jbuon.com E-mail:
[email protected] ORIGINAL ARTICLE A simplified colorimetric method for rapid detection of cell viability and toxicity in adherent cell culture systems Widyan Ahmed Alamoudi1*, Faraz Ahmad2*, Sadananda Acharya2, Shafiul Haque3, Khaldoon Alsamman4, Hatem K. Herzallah2, Sultan T. Al-Otaibi2 1Institute for Research and Medical Consultations, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia-31441; 2Department of Public Health, College of Public Health, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Ara- bia-31441; 3Research and Scientific Studies Unit, College of Nursing & Allied Health Sciences, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia-31441. *These authors contributed equally to this work. Summary Purpose: Evaluation of cell viability and toxicity in adher- safranin formed from extraneously added JG-B provides a ent culture systems is of critical relevance for a wide range proficient indicator of cellular health and viability. of disciplines of biomedical sciences research, including can- Results: Using MCF-7, a breast cancer cell line, we provide cer research, toxicology, pharmacology, cell biology, neurol- a proof of concept for the suggested assay and compare it ogy and nanomedicine. Several well-established cytotoxicity with the MTT assay. assays are widely used by researchers, including the most- preferred MTT assay. Nevertheless, there are problems as- Conclusions: Unlike the MTT assay, our JG-B assay does sociated with them, for example; in terms of the time-factor not require a solubilization/extraction step, and hence fol- and solubilization of the formzan crystals before its spec- lows a much simpler and time-efficient protocol suitable troscopic quantification.