infocus #36 December 2014 Monitoring Cell Viability and other Critical Cell Attributes

DOI: 10.22443/rms.inf.1.116

Monitoring cell viability can provide critical insights into the effectiveness of biological protocols and the stability of biological systems including: the efficacy of cell harvesting procedures, the toxicity of pharmacological agents (intended or incidental), the quality of cell culture conditions and protocols, and the effect of environmental insults. Recognising diminished viabilities can help preclude unnecessary investment of significant labour, time and costly reagents in downstream processing of unsustainable samples. Furthermore, visibility into the viability state of a culture empowers researchers to optimise protocols and reagent selection for maximal cell yields or, alternatively, effective killing of cells.