Red light is known to inhibit apoptosis, however the underlying mechanisms are unknown. The ultimate goal of this experiment is to determine if red light can reduce the rate of apoptosis in cells treated with the apoptosis-inducer raptinol. However, the first step in that process is determining the concentration of raptinol to use to induce apoptosis. To answer this question, cells will be treated with raptinol and the invitrogen Click-iT Tunel Alexa Fluor 488 Imaging Assay will be used to quanitify cells undergoing apoptosis. Other ongoing studies aim to determine the concentration of another inducer of apoptosis, methanol, suitable to induce apoptosis is retinal pigmented epithelial cells.
