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AAT Bioquest

What are the cons of membrane permeability assays?

Posted June 21, 2023


Answer

Cons of membrane permeability assays:

  • Membrane permeability assays only provide information about the integrity of the cell membrane, without directly assessing other aspects of cellular health, such as metabolic activity or functional status.
  • Temporary membrane disruption or transient changes in permeability resulting from certain experimental conditions may give false positive results. 
  • Calcein is sensitive to buffers containing esterases
  • Calcein staining and propidium iodide staining cannot be combined with fixation protocols
  • Apoptotic cells retain their membrane integrity and are resistant to exclusion dyes.
  • Light sensitive
Additional resources

Parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA) Is it better than Caco-2 for human passive permeability prediction?

Cell Viability Assays

Trypan Blue, sodium salt *10 mM aqueous solution*