6.2.5 Crystal violet (CV) assay
The crystal violet assay is described as the separation of adhering cells during apoptosis and can be used to analyse changes in proliferation rate in response to cytotoxic drugs as well as to indirectly detect cell death. In this experiment, crystal violet dye is used to colour the joined cells by binding to their proteins and DNA. Cell death occurs when cells stop adhering and are removed from the population, which reduces crystal violet staining in a culture. The crystal violet test can be used to quickly and simply determine how chemotherapeutics and other chemicals affect cell survival and growth inhibition(Feoktistova et al., 2016).
This staining is a simple and adaptable approach for determining cell viability in response to a variety of stimuli(Geserick et al., 2009). Proliferative responses that occur concurrently with cell death responses, on the other hand, may compromise it. Chemical caspase inhibitors and/or necroptosis inhibitors could be used in the experiment. Alternatively, to understand more about the reasons of cell death, molecular investigations (e.g., overexpression or knockdown) can be used(Feoktistova et al., 2011).
It’s concerning that the crystal violet assay doesn’t respond well to changes in cellular metabolic activity. So, studies involving compounds that change cell metabolism shouldn’t use this test. Utilizing the crystal violet assay, researchers can examine how chemotherapy and other drugs affect cell growth and survival (Feoktistova et al., 2011).