Fig. 1

The cytotoxic and proliferative effects of zinc on lung cancer H460 cells. a Effect of zinc on cell viability. Cells were treated with various concentrations of zinc (0–100 µM) for 24 h. Percentage of cell viability was determined by the MTT assay. Values are means of the independent triplicate experiments ± SD. *p < 0.05 versus non-treated control. b Proliferative effect of zinc on H460 cells. Cells were treated with zinc (0–50 µM) for 0–72 h and analyzed by MTT assay. c Apoptotic cells were detected by Hoechst 33342 staining after 24 h of zinc treatment. White arrow indicates the apoptotic cells having condensed chromatin and/or fragmented nuclei. Values are means of independent triplicate experiments ± SD. *p < 0.05 versus non-treated control. d Nuclear morphology of the cells stained with Hoechst 33342 and visualized under a fluorescence microscope; scale bar 100 µm