cytotoksisuustestejä

Cytotoksisuustestejä, known in English as cytotoxicity assays, are laboratory methods used to assess the toxicity of a substance or compound on living cells. These tests are crucial in various fields, including drug discovery, toxicology, environmental science, and cosmetics testing. The primary goal is to determine the concentration of a substance that causes damage or death to cells.

There are numerous types of cytotoxicity assays, each measuring different cellular endpoints. Some common methods involve assessing cell viability, which can be done by measuring metabolic activity, membrane integrity, or the presence of specific enzymes. For instance, the MTT assay and the WST-1 assay measure the metabolic activity of living cells by detecting the reduction of tetrazolium salts. Assays like the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay measure the integrity of the cell membrane, as LDH is released from the cytoplasm into the surrounding medium when the membrane is compromised. Other assays focus on apoptosis or necrosis, the programmed and unprogrammed cell death pathways, respectively.

Cytotoxicity assays are essential for screening potential therapeutic agents, identifying harmful environmental contaminants, and ensuring the safety of consumer products. By quantifying the detrimental effects of a substance on cells, these tests provide valuable data for risk assessment and decision-making in research and development. The results are typically presented as dose-response curves, indicating the level of toxicity at different concentrations of the tested substance.