Lending color to dead cells -- A novel natural dye for screening cell viability

(Tokyo University of Science) Synthetic dyes are commonly used to assess the toxicity of chemical compounds in cell cultures. However, these dyes damage cells, rendering the cultures useless for long-term experiments. Recently, scientists from Japan discovered that a natural food pigment can replace synthetic dyes in cell viability assays for three widely varied types of cells--and performs better. Their approach is also environment-friendly and inexpensive, and opens up possibilities in a range of fields including drug discovery.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news