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Table 1 Analytical methods for in vitro assessment of nanotoxicity

From: Systematic and mechanistic analysis of AuNP-induced nanotoxicity for risk assessment of nanomedicine

Toxic effect

Measurement

Assessment tools

Refs.

Metabolic activity

Mitochondrial activity assay

MTT assay

[80,81,82,83]

Esterase activity

LIVE/DEAD assay

[84]

Membrane integrity

Membrane damage

LDH assay

[79]

Trypan blue

[79]

Propidium iodide

[79]

Patch-clamp experiment

[85]

Lysosomal activity

Neutral red

[80]

Lucifer yellow

[86]

Apoptosis

Apoptotic signal

Annexin V

[87]

Caspase-3

[80, 87]

Proliferation

Colony forming efficiency

Cologenic/clonogenic assay

[88]

Genotoxicity

DNA damage

Comet assay

[89, 90]

Micronucleus assay

[91]

TUNEL assay

[92]

Gene mutation

Ames test

[92]

Gene expression

qPCR

[92]

Microarrays

[92]

DNA replication

BrdU assay

[93]

Oxidative stress

Reactive oxygen species (ROS)

DCFH

[90, 94]

EPR

[91, 94,95,96,97]

Lipid peroxidation

TBA assay for MDA

[91, 94, 98]

Amplex red

[94]

Immune stress

Cytokine

ELISA

[90, 99, 100]

Western blotting

[101]

Motility

Cell migration

Wound healing assay

[102]

Invasion assay

[51]

Cytoskeletal structure

Phalloidin staining

[51]