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The dye-exclusion test for cell viability: Persistence of differential staining following fixation

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Summary

A method is described whereby the differential staining of viable and nonviable unfixed cells, as observed by the dye-exclusion method, can be reproduced in glutaraldehyde-fixed preparations by staining with alcian blue. The results suggest that the differential staining is due, at least in part, to structural differneces that are retained following aldehyde fixation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Research Centre and Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, 8, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Dominic K. Yip (Recipient of a Research Studentship from National Cancer Institute of Canada) & Nelly Auersperg

Authors
  1. Dominic K. Yip
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  2. Nelly Auersperg
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This work was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute of Canada and the National Research Council of Canada.

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Yip, D.K., Auersperg, N. The dye-exclusion test for cell viability: Persistence of differential staining following fixation. In Vitro 7, 323–329 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02618887

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02618887

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