Comparison of three in vitro assays at evaluation of IC50 of acetylsalicylic acid, ferrous sulfate, amitriptyline, methanol, isopropanol and ethyleneglycol in human cancer cells HeLa

Evaluation of the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of acetylsalicylic ac id, ferrous sulfate, amitriptyline, methanol, isopropanol and ethylene glyc ol was done on human cancer cells cultured in in vitro conditions. Three di fferent in vitro assays were used in this study: the plating efficiency tes t, the microprotein test and the neutral red uptake test. Obtained results were evaluated by statistical methods. All used methods seem to be useful f or screening a cytotoxic potential of the rested chemicals. The knowledge o f cytotoxic effects of frequently used chemicals on mammalian cells is impo rtant not only for necessary in vitro genotoxicity and carcinogenicity stud ies but also for assessing the toxicity of chemicals to find out possible h azards to the human health. Results presented in this paper underline the u sefulness of the wider methodological approach for the comparison of the di fferent endpoints as well as a necessity for selection of a battery of in v itro cytotoxicity rests allowing to estimate the possible harmful effects o f xenobiotics.