The trypan blue cellular debris assay: a novel low-cost method for the rapid quantification of cell death
Paul F. Lebeau,
Jack Chen,
Jae Hyun Byun,
Khrystyna Platko,
Richard C. Austin
Affiliations
Paul F. Lebeau
Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, McMaster University, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and Hamilton Centre for Kidney Research, Hamilton, Ontario L8N 4A6, Canada
Jack Chen
Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, McMaster University, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and Hamilton Centre for Kidney Research, Hamilton, Ontario L8N 4A6, Canada
Jae Hyun Byun
Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, McMaster University, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and Hamilton Centre for Kidney Research, Hamilton, Ontario L8N 4A6, Canada
Khrystyna Platko
Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, McMaster University, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and Hamilton Centre for Kidney Research, Hamilton, Ontario L8N 4A6, Canada
Richard C. Austin
Corresponding author at: 50 Charlton Ave. E., Rm. T-3313, Hamilton, Ontario L8N 4A6, Canada.; Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, McMaster University, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and Hamilton Centre for Kidney Research, Hamilton, Ontario L8N 4A6, Canada
Cell death is a common driver of human disease and is frequently studied in a variety of in vitro settings. There currently exists a range of commercially available assays to examine cell death, however, most are costly and require assay-specific experimental conditions that may not be suitable for many cell types. Here, we show that cellular debris occurring as a result of cell death can be used to quantify cell death using trypan blue. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the data generated using this technique are comparable to the widely-used lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay. Overall, we describe a novel application for trypan blue, a stain found in most biology laboratories, as a novel and cost-effective method for the quantification of cell death via staining of cell debris. Method name: Trypan blue cellular debris assay, Keywords: Cell death, Assay, Trypan blue, LDH assay, Cytotoxicity, Dye, Cell viability, 96-well plate, Apoptosis
