Iodonitrotetrazolium chloride CAS:146-68-9

Detection of dehydrogenase activity: INT can be used to determine the activity of dehydrogenase enzymes in biological samples. Dehydrogenases are enzymes involved in cellular respiration and various metabolic processes. INT is reduced by dehydrogenase enzymes, resulting in the formation of a red formazan product. The intensity of the red color is directly proportional to the activity of dehydrogenase enzymes present in the sample.

Cell viability assays: INT can be used to assess cell viability and metabolic activity. By measuring the reduction of INT to formazan, researchers can determine the number of viable cells in a sample. Reduced INT only forms formazan in metabolically active cells, making it a useful dye for assessing cell viability in applications such as drug toxicity testing or cell culture experiments.

Microbiological research: INT is frequently used in microbiology for the detection and enumeration of microorganisms. It can be used to indicate bacterial or fungal growth based on their metabolic activities. The presence of the formazan product indicates the growth of microorganisms in a sample.

Clinical diagnostics: INT-based assays have found applications in clinical diagnostics. For example, INT dye can be used to assess the function of neutrophils (a type of white blood cell) by measuring their ability to reduce the dye. Dysfunction of neutrophils is associated with various diseases, and INT assays provide a quick and reliable method for assessing their activity.