DNA-binding fluorescent dyes detect real-time cell toxicity during drug screening

High throughput screening of compounds in live cells is a powerful approach for discovering new drugs, but the potential for cell toxicity must be considered. A novel technique that uses DNA-binding fluorescent dyes to evaluate the cytotoxicity of an experimental compound in real-time during screening, saving time and resources, is described in ASSAY and Drug Development Technologies.

Lucius Chiaraviglio and James Kirby, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, evaluated 19 fluorescent DNA-binding dyes and identified four dyes that were not harmful to cells and could not cross the cell membrane if a cell was viable. The authors demonstrated the ability to use these dyes to detect cell death during drug screening in the article "Evaluation of Impermeant, DNA-Binding Dye Fluorescence as a Real-Time Readout of Eukaryotic Cell Toxicity in a High Throughput Screening Format."

More information:
The article is available on the ASSAY and Drug Development Technologies website.

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