Comparative study of classical, colorimetric and immunologic staining methods for the assessment of tumor cell viability

The trypan blue exclusion test, the MTT test and an immunostaining test for apoptosis were performed before and after incubation of SW620 human colonic carcinoma cells with different cytotoxic agents (CTAs) in order to assess tumor cell viability and CTA efficacy in vitro. A modified MTT test using light microscopy was also performed. A good correlation was found between the trypan blue assay and the MTT test, as determined by spectrophotometry. There was no 'overestimation' of cell viability as measured by the trypan blue test. The monitoring of formazan formation by light microscopy was feasible, but not very reliable since it did not show a good correlation with findings determined by spectrophotometry. The apoptosis test failed to show good correlation with other tests. Distilled water had no relevant cytotoxic effect, while chlorhexidine cetrimide (HAC 3.5%), chloramine 0,5% and polyvinylpyrrolidone iodine (PVP-I) greater than or equal to 0.05% damaged a large majority of cells. PVP-I at a concentration of greater than or equal to 5% was found to be the most effective CTA.