Predictive value of the surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering-based MTT assay: a rapid and ultrasensitive method for cell viability in situ.

SERRS (surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering) has been used to develop and optimize a novel and quantitative MTT assay for living cell viability. This highly sensitive method derives from two factors for formazan signal enhancing: the addition of Au nanoparticles and the resonance effect by 632.8 nm of excitation. The results show that the background elements, such as excessive MTT residues, serum, and the drug, did not interfere with the detection of formazan. Moreover, the detection limit of formazan is as low as 1 ng/mL. With the use of this method to quantify metabolically viable cells, dose-response curves of treated and untreated cells with the drug were constructed on the human lung cancer cell A549. The results also show that the Raman signal generated is dependent on the degree of activation of the cells. In comparison to the traditional method, the main advantages of this method are its rapidity (30 min), high-selectivity, high-precision, and cost-effectiveness (0.1 mg/mL MTT) without time-consuming steps and any modifying or labeling procedure. This work reports on an improved research tool that may help researchers apply this method for in situ cell assays.