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Cytotoxicity & Biocompatibility

MTS Assay

Metabolic activity as an indicator of cell viability — no solubilisation step.

Purpose

To measure cellular metabolic activity as an indicator of cell viability, for proliferation, cytotoxicity screening and drug sensitivity testing.

Principle

MTS (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium) is reduced by metabolically active cells into a coloured formazan product via NAD(P)H-dependent dehydrogenases. The absorbance of the formazan dye correlates with the number of viable cells.

Standard protocol

Protocol (typical)

  1. 1

    Seed cells in a 96-well plate and allow them to adhere (e.g., 24 hours).

  2. 2

    Treat cells with test compounds.

  3. 3

    Add MTS reagent (e.g., 20 μL per 100 μL medium) directly to each well.

  4. 4

    Incubate at 37 °C for 1–4 hours.

  5. 5

    Measure absorbance at 490–500 nm using a microplate reader.

  6. 6

    Calculate cell viability relative to untreated controls.

Representative data

MTS cell proliferation across increasing polymer concentrations (0.3–7.2 μg).
MTS cell proliferation across increasing polymer concentrations (0.3–7.2 μg).
MTS cell proliferation of treated groups at different N/P ratios and doses.
MTS cell proliferation of treated groups at different N/P ratios and doses.
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