Drug evaluation on haemopoietic cells in vitro. I. A micro agar colony assay with semi-automatic optical monitoring.

A micro method was developed to culture myelomonocytic colonies from mouse bone marrow cells in semi-solid agar contained in glass capillary tubes. Parameters affecting colony formation in capillaries were studied. An optical, semi-automatic scanning system using the light scattering properties of the colonies was developed; the system was mostly composed of commercially available equipment. The daily growth of single colonies within the tubes was followed. Combined with the capillary technique the scanning system provides an easy, accurate and sensitive method to quantitate the formation of haemopoietic colonies. This is the basis of a micro assay for the evaluation (screening) of drug effects on mammalian cell colonies in vitro offering several advantageous features.