Design and Practice of Exploratory Experiment for Cell Cycle Detection

For improving the teaching method, the experiment of cell cycle detection was designed as a problem-direction exploratory one. Different fixative solutions were used to analyze the effect of fixative agent on the cell morphology and cell dispersion. Moreover, using flow cytometry, cell cycle phases were explored both when culturing cells in serum-free medium and treating with anti-cancer drug. According to the results, cells showed typical round morphology and good dispersion after fixing with freshly prepared 70% ethanol, which implied that 70% ethanol was an appropriate fixative solution. In addition, the cell cycle phase changed with the treatment of both serum starvation and anti-cancer drug. Cell cycle stayed at the G0/G1 phase with serum-free culture while G2/M phase with paclitaxel treatment. This experiment integrated practice application with classroom teaching, which effectively stimulated students’ interest in learning and exploring. It is helpful to improve the effect of experimental teaching.