MTT Assay
MTT assay is used to measure cellular metabolic activity as an indicator of cell viability, proliferation and cytotoxicity.
MTT assay is a colorimetric assay for assessing cellular metabolic activity as an indicator of cell viability, proliferation and cytotoxicity. This colorimetric assay is based on the reduction of a yellow tetrazolium salt (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide or MTT) to purple formazan crystals by metabolically active cells. The viable cells contain NAD(P)H-dependent oxidoreductase enzymes which reduce the MTT to formazan. The insoluble formazan crystals are dissolved using a solubilization solution and the resulting colored solution is quantified by measuring absorbance at 500-600 nanometers using a multi-well spectrophotometer. The darker the solution, the greater the number of viable, metabolically active cells.
