ABSTRACT
There are many situations in which it may be important to evaluate the viability of cultured mammalian cells: for example, to optimize conditions for isolation (sorting, cloning) or cryopreservation; to aid in selection of optimal conditions and quality control for long-term cultures; to assess the effect of exposure to xenobiotics, ranging from drugs to biomaterials; and others. Flow cytometry is a particularly useful tool for monitoring the health of cultured cells because it can be used to measure a wide range of cell functions. However, this very flexibility can lead to confusion about exactly what is meant by "cell viability" or "cell death," as discussed later [1].
