Cell Growth Measurement Methods
The cell growth can be detected by a variety of methods. The cell size growth can be visualized by microscopy, using suitable stains. But the increase of cells number is usually more significant. It can be measured by manual counting of cells under microscopy observation, using the dye exclusion method (i.e. trypan blue) to count only viable cells. Less fastidious, scallable, methods include the use of cytometers, while flow cytometry allows to combine cell counts ('events') with other specific parameters: fluorescent probes for membranes, cytoplasm or nuclei allow to distinguish dead/viable cells, cell types, cell differentiation, expression of a biomarker such as Ki67.
Beside the increasing number of cells, one can be assessed regarding the metabolic activity growth. I.e. the CFDA and calcein-AM measure (fluorimetrically) not only the membrane functionality (dye retention), but also the functionality of cytoplasmic enzymes (esterases). The MTT assays (colorimetric) and the resazurin assay (fluorimetric) dose the mitochondrial redox potentiel.
Finally, all these assays may correlate well, or not depending on cell growth conditions and desired aspects (activity, proliferation). The task is even more complicated with populations of differents cells, furthermore when combining cell growth interferences or toxicity.
Read more about this topic: Cell Growth
Famous quotes containing the words cell, growth, measurement and/or methods:
“She that but little patience knew,
From childhood on, had now so much
A grey gull lost its fear and flew
Down to her cell and there alit,
And there endured her fingers’ touch
And from her fingers ate its bit.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Here commences what was called, twenty years ago, the best timber land in the State. This very spot was described as “covered with the greatest abundance of pine,” but now this appeared to me, comparatively, an uncommon tree there,—and yet you did not see where any more could have stood, amid the dense growth of cedar, fir, etc.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“That’s the great danger of sectarian opinions, they always accept the formulas of past events as useful for the measurement of future events and they never are, if you have high standards of accuracy.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)
“We are lonesome animals. We spend all our life trying to be less lonesome. One of our ancient methods is to tell a story begging the listener to say—and to feel—”Yes, that’s the way it is, or at least that’s the way I feel it. You’re not as alone as you thought.””
—John Steinbeck (1902–1968)