Elsevier

Parasitology International

Volume 48, Issue 3, 1 January 2000, Pages 265-269
Parasitology International

Research note
A simple colorimetric method to screen drug cytotoxicity against Leishmania using the dye Alamar Blue®

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1383-5769(99)00020-3Get rights and content

Abstract

A quantitative colorimetric assay using the oxidation–reduction indicator Alamar Blue® was developed to measure cytotoxicity of compounds against the protozoan parasite Leishmania. Absorbance increased linearly with the plating density of promastigotes of L. major MRHO/IR/76 vaccine strain up to at least 2.5×106 cells/ml when parasites were incubated for 72 h in the presence of 10% Alamar Blue®. The 50% effective dose values of common drugs (amphotericin B, pentostam and paromomycin) obtained by this assay were in the same range as previously determined by other methods. The Alamar Blue® assay permits a simple, reproducible and reliable method for screening antileishmanial drugs.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Conor R. Caffrey (Tropical Disease Research Unit, Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco) for critical reading of the manuscript and Dr Thomas Ilg (Max-Planck-Institut für Biologie, Tübingen, Germany) for providing the L. major MRHO/IR/76 vaccine strain. This work was supported by the Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie, Schwerpunkt für tropenmedizinische Forschung in Heidelberg (01 KA 9301/3).

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