Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 8, 2025
A Strategy to Identify Compounds that Affect Cell Growth and Survival in Cultured Mammalian Cells at Low-to-Moderate Throughput
Published on: September 22, 2019
A simple colorimetric experiment using mammalian cell culture to study metabolism
Kanika Sharma1, Kiel J Fizet2, Kathlyene R Montgomery2
1NCI RAS Initiative, Cancer Research Technology Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA.
Abstract:
The goal of this laboratory exercise is to give upper-level undergraduate students an introduction to sterile technique in mammalian cell culture and metabolism. The experiment can be completed within a 3-h lab period and can be performed either in conjunction with other biochemistry/metabolism experiments or used as a stand-alone experiment. In this experiment, students are tasked with relating the acidification of cell culture medium to metabolism in order to elucidate the mechanism of action for a compound. Students can relate their experimental results to topics covered on glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation in upper-level biochemistry classes as well as gain valuable experience relating metabolism to drug discovery.
