Volume 20, Issue 45, January - June, 2026

Comparative mechanistic profiling of cytotoxic agents: Role of redox imbalance, metabolic suppression, and protein damage in a bacterial model

Bhanupratap Harishchandra Vishwakarma^1♦

¹Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biochemistry, ZSCT’s Thakur Shyamnarayan Degree College, Thakur Complex, Kandivali (East), Mumbai–400101, Maharashtra, India

^♦Corresponding Author
Bhanupratap Harishchandra Vishwakarma, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biochemistry, ZSCT’s Thakur Shyamnarayan Degree College, Thakur Complex, Kandivali (East), Mumbai – 400101, Maharashtra, India

ABSTRACT

Cytotoxicity testing is an important aspect of pharmacological or toxicological investigation, but knowing about cell injury mechanisms is also needed in order for the data to be interpreted the right way. Cytotoxicity test is an important part of pharmacological and toxicological investigation, but it also needs scientists to know about the cellular injury mechanism so that the data can be understood correctly. Four main chemicals, hydrogen peroxide, sodium azide, copper sulfate, and mercuric chloride, were checked for how they affected the metabolism of the cells, caused oxidative stress to appear, and also broke proteins. Cellular metabolic function was studied with the MTT test, while oxidative stress was investigated using mixes of hydrogen peroxide with other agents. Protein harm was checked using the ninhydrin test by measuring more free amino acids. Concentration ranges (1, 3, and 5 mM) were used for all tests during controlled conditions. The results showed different types of toxic behaviors for chemicals that were tested in the experiment. Hydrogen peroxide showed strong toxicity because of causing oxidative stress, as seen by much lower metabolic activities and proteins being damaged more. Sodium azide stopped most of the metabolism, but did not cause a lot of oxidative stress at all. Copper sulfate results in both an increase in oxidative stress and also messes with metabolic actions. Instead, mercuric chloride causes big destruction in proteins, meaning it causes them to lose their natural shape, so that most enzymes do not work. Using hydrogen peroxide with other chemicals made the toxic effects stronger, showing that maybe there is a synergistic effect due to oxidation not being in balance. The researchers try for a simple procedure that is still good for giving classification about how toxic these agents work, using basic biochemistry methods. These findings help to see better how toxicity is developed, and show that one must check many parts when screening toxic effects for medical purposes and to ensure protection for safety.

Keywords: Cytotoxicity; MTT assay, Oxidative stress, Protein damage, Ninhydrin assay, Redox imbalance, Sodium azide, Mercuric chloride, Pharmacological mechanisms

Drug Discovery, 2026, 20(45), e14dd3083

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Published: 09 May 2026