MTT assay

MTT is a chemical compound called 3- (4,5-cimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide. It could be dissolve into water and with yellowish color. MTT would react with the hydride ion which lactate dehydrogenase makes inside mitochodrion and only in alive cells.

 

MTT would start crystalizing inside alive cells like that picture, and even the crystal of MTT would penetrate cell membrane if the time of reaction is too long.

                                                 This picture is a sample of overreaction

We take MTT to stain alive cells, and then use known concentration of cells of samples to identify the concentration of cells of unknown samples.

 

Put the samples in to a 96 wells plant.

 

 Put the 96 wells plant in to a spectroscope

 Finally, figure out a linear fitting curve with computer program. Then we could measure out the concentration of cells of unknown samples by a spectroscope and this formula.