A novel dye exclusion assay for measurement of cell response following in vitro exposure to radiation or drugs.

A novel dye exclusion assay based on differential staining of fixed cells has been evaluated using the MOLT4 (T-lymphoblastic leukaemia) and DAUDI (Burkitt lymphoma) cell lines. Reproducible differential staining was found with fixed samples kept for up to 2 months. A small increase (less than 13%) in the proportion of stained cells was observed over the first 30 days in fixative. Reproducible dose-response data were obtained with cells treated with radiation or drugs and assayed after 4 days in culture. This ability to fix cells prior to measurement of viability is of general use particularly where time constraints prevent haemocytometer counting. More specifically, it may have potential use in the field of chemosensitivity testing particularly where large sample numbers require rapid processing.