Applications of cell cultures in research MCQs With Answer

Applications of cell cultures in research MCQs With Answer: Cell culture applications are central to modern pharmaceutical education and research, providing in vitro models for drug development, toxicology screening, pharmacology, biotechnology, and disease modeling. For B. Pharm students, mastering cell-based assays, primary cells versus immortalized cell lines, 2D and 3D culture systems, organoids, and bioreactor scale-up is essential. Understanding contamination control, cryopreservation, transfection techniques, and assay selection (MTT, LDH, Trypan Blue) enhances experimental design and regulatory compliance. These MCQs focus on practical applications, quality control, and interpretation of cell culture data to prepare you for laboratory work and research. Now let’s test your knowledge with 50 MCQs on this topic.

Q1. Which application of cell cultures is most commonly used for initial drug cytotoxicity screening?

• Histopathology of fixed tissues
• Cell-based viability assays like MTT
• In vivo animal behavioral tests
• Clinical trials

Correct Answer: Cell-based viability assays like MTT

Q2. Primary cell cultures are best described as:

• Immortalized cells derived from cancer lines
• Cells freshly isolated from tissues with limited lifespan
• Cells genetically modified to resist senescence
• Artificially synthesized cells

Correct Answer: Cells freshly isolated from tissues with limited lifespan

Q3. Which cell culture format better mimics tissue architecture and cell–cell interactions?

• Suspension culture
• 2D monolayer culture
• 3D spheroid/organoid culture
• Frozen cell pellets

Correct Answer: 3D spheroid/organoid culture

Q4. Mycoplasma contamination in cell cultures most commonly affects:

• Cell morphology only, with no functional change
• Cell metabolism, growth rates, and experimental outcomes
• Only the color of the culture medium
• Only bacteria-sensitive assays

Correct Answer: Cell metabolism, growth rates, and experimental outcomes

Q5. Which assay directly measures mitochondrial metabolic activity as a proxy for cell viability?

• Trypan Blue exclusion
• MTT or MTS assay
• Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release
• Flow cytometric bead assay

Correct Answer: MTT or MTS assay

Q6. Serum-free media are preferred in cell culture when:

• Reducing experimental variability and defined conditions is required
• Maximizing unknown growth factors is desired
• Only long-term cryopreservation is intended
• Contamination is not a concern

Correct Answer: Reducing experimental variability and defined conditions is required

Q7. Organ-on-a-chip systems are primarily used to:

• Perform high-throughput genomic sequencing
• Model organ-level physiology and drug responses in vitro
• Replace PCR in molecular diagnostics
• Store cells long term

Correct Answer: Model organ-level physiology and drug responses in vitro

Q8. Which method is commonly used to detect Mycoplasma contamination?

• Gram staining
• Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assays
• Electron microscopy for viral particles
• Hemocytometer counting

Correct Answer: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assays

Q9. Cryopreservation of cell lines typically uses which cryoprotectant?

• Glycerol exclusively
• Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)
• Formalin
• Ethanol

Correct Answer: Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)

Q10. Co-culture systems are valuable because they:

• Prevent any cell–cell communication
• Allow study of interactions between different cell types
• Are cheaper than monocultures in all cases
• Require no optimization of media

Correct Answer: Allow study of interactions between different cell types

Q11. Transfection in cell culture is performed to:

• Measure oxygen consumption only
• Introduce nucleic acids to express or silence genes
• Increase medium viscosity
• Sterilize the culture

Correct Answer: Introduce nucleic acids to express or silence genes

Q12. Which of the following is a key advantage of immortalized cell lines over primary cells?

• Closer resemblance to in vivo primary cell physiology
• Unlimited proliferative capacity for extended experiments
• No requirement for ethical approval
• Always more genetically stable

Correct Answer: Unlimited proliferative capacity for extended experiments

Q13. The LDH release assay measures:

• Mitochondrial membrane potential
• Cell membrane integrity and cytotoxicity
• DNA content
• Cell proliferation rate directly

Correct Answer: Cell membrane integrity and cytotoxicity

Q14. Good Cell Culture Practice (GCCP) emphasizes:

• Ignoring documentation to save time
• Aseptic technique, documentation, and quality control
• Using contaminated lines for realism
• Minimal training requirements

Correct Answer: Aseptic technique, documentation, and quality control

Q15. Which parameter is most important when choosing a cell-based model for pharmacokinetic studies?

• Color of culture medium
• Expression of relevant drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters
• Cell doubling time exclusively
• Origin of lab equipment

Correct Answer: Expression of relevant drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters

Q16. Serum used in culture media is commonly derived from:

• Plant extracts
• Fetal bovine serum (FBS)
• Human hair
• Pure water

Correct Answer: Fetal bovine serum (FBS)

Q17. Antibiotics in cell culture media should be used cautiously because they can:

• Eliminate the need for aseptic technique
• Mask low-level contamination and affect cell physiology
• Always improve cell growth reproducibility
• Convert primary cells to immortalized cells

Correct Answer: Mask low-level contamination and affect cell physiology

Q18. Which technique quantifies live versus dead cells by membrane integrity under a microscope?

• RT-PCR
• Trypan Blue exclusion assay
• Western blotting
• ELISA for cytokines

Correct Answer: Trypan Blue exclusion assay

Q19. Spheroid cultures are especially useful for cancer research because they:

• Are two-dimensional and easy to image
• Recreate tumor gradients and cell heterogeneity in 3D
• Require no characterization
• Always grow faster than monolayers

Correct Answer: Recreate tumor gradients and cell heterogeneity in 3D

Q20. Which instrument is essential for counting cells accurately in suspension?

• Spectrophotometer
• Hemocytometer or automated cell counter
• pH meter
• Centrifuge only

Correct Answer: Hemocytometer or automated cell counter

Q21. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are valuable in research because they:

• Are terminally differentiated and cannot proliferate
• Can be reprogrammed from somatic cells to a pluripotent state
• Always form tumors in culture
• Do not require specialized culture conditions

Correct Answer: Can be reprogrammed from somatic cells to a pluripotent state

Q22. Which culture condition is most critical to maintain during long incubations to prevent acidity?

• Humidity only
• pH and CO2 concentration in the incubator
• Light intensity
• Magnetic field strength

Correct Answer: pH and CO2 concentration in the incubator

Q23. A transwell co-culture system allows study of:

• Direct cell–cell contact only
• Paracrine signaling between separated cell populations
• Only bacterial growth
• Electrophysiological properties exclusively

Correct Answer: Paracrine signaling between separated cell populations

Q24. For viral vector production in cell culture, which cell property is important?

• Resistance to transfection
• High transfectability and appropriate biosafety handling
• Inability to support viral replication
• Complete serum independence

Correct Answer: High transfectability and appropriate biosafety handling

Q25. Flow cytometry in cell culture research is primarily used to:

• Measure bulk medium composition
• Analyze cell populations by size, granularity, and markers
• Replace light microscopy entirely
• Control incubator temperature

Correct Answer: Analyze cell populations by size, granularity, and markers

Q26. Which of the following best describes a feeder layer?

• A layer of dead cells for staining controls
• Supportive cells that provide growth factors to culture more demanding cells
• Just another name for antibiotic layer
• Plastic coating used to enhance adhesion

Correct Answer: Supportive cells that provide growth factors to culture more demanding cells

Q27. What is the main purpose of using trypsin in adherent cell cultures?

• Staining nuclei
• Detaching cells by digesting adhesion proteins
• Fixing cells for imaging
• Preventing bacterial growth

Correct Answer: Detaching cells by digesting adhesion proteins

Q28. In a drug screening assay, EC50 refers to:

• The maximum effect achievable
• The concentration that gives half-maximal effective response
• The concentration that kills all cells
• The equilibrium constant of binding

Correct Answer: The concentration that gives half-maximal effective response

Q29. Which biosafety level (BSL) is typically required for standard mammalian cell culture work with non-pathogenic lines?

• BSL-4
• BSL-2
• BSL-1 or BSL-2 depending on manipulations
• BSL-3 mandatory

Correct Answer: BSL-1 or BSL-2 depending on manipulations

Q30. Reporter gene assays in cell culture commonly use which reporter to monitor promoter activity?

• Hemoglobin
• Luciferase or GFP
• Lipase
• Collagen

Correct Answer: Luciferase or GFP

Q31. Which quality control parameter ensures cell identity over passages?

• Mycoplasma testing only
• SNP profiling or short tandem repeat (STR) authentication
• Only monitoring medium color
• Counting cells daily without records

Correct Answer: SNP profiling or short tandem repeat (STR) authentication

Q32. Lipofection is a method used for:

• Mechanical cell dissociation
• Chemical transfection using lipid-based carriers
• Measuring lipid content in cells
• Staining membranes

Correct Answer: Chemical transfection using lipid-based carriers

Q33. Which factor most influences oxygen diffusion in 3D cultures or spheroids?

• Ambient light
• Size (diameter) of the spheroid
• Type of pipette used
• Sterility of the medium only

Correct Answer: Size (diameter) of the spheroid

Q34. High-content screening (HCS) combines cell culture with:

• Bulk metabolomics only
• Automated imaging and multiparametric analysis
• Manual microscopy without software
• Purely electrophysiological readouts

Correct Answer: Automated imaging and multiparametric analysis

Q35. Which statement about serum batch testing is correct?

• All serum batches are identical and require no testing
• Batch-to-batch variability can affect experiments, so testing is recommended
• Serum batches are irrelevant for primary cultures
• Testing serum is unethical

Correct Answer: Batch-to-batch variability can affect experiments, so testing is recommended

Q36. What is a common marker for identifying endothelial cells in culture?

• Insulin
• CD31 (PECAM-1)
• Albumin exclusively
• PAX6

Correct Answer: CD31 (PECAM-1)

Q37. Bioreactors in cell culture are used to:

• Grow small numbers of cells only
• Scale up cell production and control environmental parameters
• Freeze cells rapidly
• Perform flow cytometry

Correct Answer: Scale up cell production and control environmental parameters

Q38. When performing gene knockdown studies, which tool is commonly used?

• siRNA or shRNA
• Antibiotics
• Trypsin
• Fetal bovine serum

Correct Answer: siRNA or shRNA

Q39. Endotoxin contamination in cell culture reagents primarily affects:

• Only plant cells
• Inflammatory responses and immune cell assays
• Color of plastics
• CO2 levels in incubator

Correct Answer: Inflammatory responses and immune cell assays

Q40. Which staining method differentiates between apoptotic and necrotic cells using phosphatidylserine exposure?

• Annexin V/PI staining
• Gram staining
• Hematoxylin only
• MTT assay

Correct Answer: Annexin V/PI staining

Q41. For pharmacology experiments, hepatocyte cultures are used to study:

• Neural action potentials exclusively
• Drug metabolism and hepatotoxicity
• Bone mineralization only
• Cardiac contractility

Correct Answer: Drug metabolism and hepatotoxicity

Q42. What is the major limitation of 2D monolayer cultures for drug testing?

• They perfectly mimic in vivo drug responses
• Lack of 3D architecture and physiological gradients seen in tissues
• They are too expensive compared with animals in all cases
• They cannot be infected with viruses

Correct Answer: Lack of 3D architecture and physiological gradients seen in tissues

Q43. Which reagent is commonly used to neutralize trypsin after cell detachment?

• EDTA only
• Culture medium containing serum
• Pure ethanol
• Formaldehyde

Correct Answer: Culture medium containing serum

Q44. Which parameter is assessed by the comet assay in cultured cells?

• Membrane lipid peroxidation exclusively
• DNA strand breaks and damage at the single-cell level
• Protein concentration in medium
• Number of mitochondria per cell

Correct Answer: DNA strand breaks and damage at the single-cell level

Q45. Automated liquid handling in cell-based screens primarily improves:

• Visual aesthetics of the lab
• Throughput, reproducibility, and reduced human error
• Cell differentiation rates only
• Necessity for quality control

Correct Answer: Throughput, reproducibility, and reduced human error

Q46. Which factor is essential when interpreting in vitro toxicity data for in vivo relevance?

• Ignoring metabolic competence of the model
• Considering ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion) differences
• Assuming identical exposure in humans without scaling
• Only focusing on color changes in media

Correct Answer: Considering ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion) differences

Q47. Which of the following is a common limitation when using cancer cell lines for pharmacological studies?

• They perfectly represent normal tissue physiology
• Genetic drift and mutations over passages can alter responses
• They never grow in standard media
• They are always diploid and stable

Correct Answer: Genetic drift and mutations over passages can alter responses

Q48. Which technique allows visualization of protein expression and localization in cultured cells?

• Western blot without imaging
• Immunocytochemistry or immunofluorescence microscopy
• Mass spectrometry only
• Chromatography

Correct Answer: Immunocytochemistry or immunofluorescence microscopy

Q49. When scaling up adherent cell cultures for production, one common strategy is to use:

• Standard petri dishes only
• Microcarrier-based bioreactors to increase surface area
• Frozen storage without culture
• Monolayer flasks stacked without gas exchange

Correct Answer: Microcarrier-based bioreactors to increase surface area

Q50. Which ethical consideration is particularly relevant to primary human cell culture work?

• No consent is ever required
• Informed consent and donor privacy protections
• Only animal ethics apply
• Commercial vendors remove all ethical responsibility

Correct Answer: Informed consent and donor privacy protections

G S Sachin

I am a Registered Pharmacist under the Pharmacy Act, 1948, and the founder of PharmacyFreak.com. I hold a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from Rungta College of Pharmaceutical Science and Research. With a strong academic foundation and practical knowledge, I am committed to providing accurate, easy-to-understand content to support pharmacy students and professionals. My aim is to make complex pharmaceutical concepts accessible and useful for real-world application.

Mail- Sachin@pharmacyfreak.com