A modification of the cell culture agar diffusion test using fluoresceindiacetate staining.

In order to reduce the uncertainties involved in the morphologic evaluation of the cell culture agar diffusion test, the originally recommended neutral red stain was replaced by fluoresceindiacetate (FDA). This stain proved to be nontoxic in the concentrations used in this study (0.002%). Toxicity tests with phenol, formalin, and methylmethacrylate monomer revealed results corresponding to literature evaluations by other methods. Since FDA makes cell metabolism visible and easily accessible to automated evaluation techniques, it presents certain advantages over the morphologic evaluation using the neutral red stain.