CyQUANT™ MTT Cell Viability Assay (Invitrogen™)

The CyQUANT MTT Cell Viability Assay utilizes the well-established and widely used MTT reagent to determine mammalian cell viability. The redox potential in active mammalian cells reduces MTT to a strongly pigmented formazan product. After solubilization, the absorbance of the formazan can be measured with a microplate absorbance reader. The CyQUANT MTT Cell Viability Assay is a complete, optimized kit that provides all the reagents necessary for the detection of mammalian cell viability. The kit provides a sufficient amount of material for ∼1000 assays.

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Features of the CyQUANT MTT Cell Viability Assay include:
• Complete and optimized kit for colorimetric detection of viable mammalian cells
• Utilizes the well-established MTT reagent as reporter of cellular redox potential
• Configured to perform 1,000 tests using a 96-well microplate

Measuring changes to cell viability is a fundamental method for assessing cell health, determining genotoxicity, and evaluating anti-cancer drugs. Several methods can be used for such determinations, but procedures using colorimetric indicators provide a rapid and cost-effective method for determining changes to mammalian cell viability. Among the various colorimetric viability assays, the MTT assay is a well-established and popular assay.

The redox potential in viable mammalian cells causes the water soluble MTT reagent (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) to convert to an insoluble formazan product. After solubilization of the formazan with the included SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate) reagent, the concentration of the colorimetric probe is determined by an optical density measurement at 570 nm.

The CyQUANT MTT Cell Viability Assay provides a simple method for determination of mammalian cell viability using standard microplate absorbance readers. Simply prepare the MTT reagent, add it to the cells, solubilize the resulting formazan, and determine the optical density using a standard microplate reader. The CyQUANT MTT Cell Viability Assay provides the necessary materials to perform 1,000 individual tests using standard 96-well microplates.