3D profilometry and cell viability studies for drug response screening

In vitro tests for assessing cell viability and drug response are widely employed for determining cytotoxicity of drugs, chemicals, or material substrates. These assays have some advantages, such as speed, reduced cost, and potential for automation. However, since these tests are often run with a huge amount of cells, the characteristic properties of a single cell can be masked leading to a lack of the diagnostic features of these assays. Vital processes as proliferation and cell death (either necrosis or apoptosis) are associated to drastic changes of volume and surface analysis techniques like 3D optical scanning profilometry allow noninvasive and nondestructive approach with fast detection and good resolution at nano-microscale. Here, we demonstrate how coupling noninvasive morphological surface analysis techniques with well assessed biochemical methods can help to establish the relationship between the modifications on cellular viability induced by precursors of proliferation and cell death and variations on cell volume induced by these treatments. The proposed approach has demonstrated improved efficiency on the assessment of inductive changes on tumoral cells in comparison to non-tumoral cells upon administration of proliferative nontoxic or cytotoxic substances like chemotherapeutics.