Plasmodium falciparum: In vitro cytotoxicity testing using MTT

Abstract

The microculture tetrazolium assay using 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) was used to estimate the 50% inhibitory concentration of chloroquine, quinine, artemisinin, and atovaquone using a Plasmodium falciparum in vitro culture system. The MTT assay was compared to the standard tritiated hypoxanthine assay and to a previously described method, the 2,2′-di-p-nitrophenyl-5,5′-diphenyl-3,3′-[3,3′- dimethoxy-4,4′-diphenylene]-ditetrazolium chloride (NBT) assay. In general, the results show that the three assays generate comparative results. The results of this study suggest that the MTT method is able to give a profile of cytotoxic dose response effects over a wide range of concentrations of a drug. The method may be used in work that does not require extreme precision and sensitivity, for instance, as a portable rapid screen to assay natural products for in vitro cytotoxic activity against Plasmodium falciparum. © 1998 The Society for Biomolecular Screening, Inc.