Figure 2.

Quaternized chitosan showed a synergetic effect on increasing cell apoptosis caused by vemurafenib in melanoma cells.

Notes: Melanoma cells were treated with medium control, vemurafenib, quaternized chitosan, or a mixture of vemurafenib and quaternized chitosan. (A) Cell viability observed using the Live/Dead Cell kit after a 48-hour incubation. Live cells with esterase activity appeared green, whereas dead cells with damaged membranes appeared red. (B) Cell apoptosis evaluated by flow cytometry after being stained with the Annexin-V and PI after a 48-hour incubation. (C) Quantification of the ratio of apoptotic cells in different groups after a 48-hour incubation. The scale bar is 100 µm as indicated in the last image of each row. *P<0.01, compared with the CTRL and QC groups. **P<0.05, compared with the V group.

Abbreviations: CTRL, blank control; PI, propidium iodide; QC, quaternized chitosan; V, vemurafenib.