A RAPID, MULTIWELL COLORIMETRIC ASSAY FOR CHEMOTAXIS

This paper describes a colorimetric assay for the rapid quantification of chemotaxis in multiple samples. In this assay, cells that have mig rated through polycarbonate membrane filters are collected onto the bo ttom wells of a chemotaxis chamber after centrifugation then the numbe r of viable cells collected in the bottom well is quantified by measur ement of the reduction of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenol te trazolium bromide (MTT). The degree of MTT reduction, which correspond s to the relative cell number, is measured automatically with an ELISA reader. The MTT method of quantitation is as sensitive as the standar d manual method, is especially useful for large numbers of samples and requires no specialized laboratory equipment.