A voltammetric method for analyzing the apoptosis of K562 cells

A voltammetric method for analyzing the effectiveness of anti-tumor drugs was investigated. In this paper, we providea method to describe the effectiveness of Vp16 (4′-demethyl-epipodophylotoxin-β-D-ethylidone-pyranoglucoside) on K562 cells. The voltammetric responses of apoptotic K562 cells showed a tendency to decrease compared with those of the control group of K562 cells and this inclination began from a relatively early stage in the cell culture course. In the same process of apoptosis, a DNA ladder of K562 cells was observed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Therefore, the faradic difference of K562 cells in apoptosis and in the control group was a sign of apoptosis and may provide a valuable method for evaluating cell apoptosis at an early stage.