GENERAL CALCULATOR I - PDT, POPULATION DOUBLING TIME

APPLICATION: The PDT is a widely used cell kinetics parameter for quantifying and comparing the proliferation rate of cells in culture.   PDT is the amount of time required for the number of cells in a proliferating culture to double.  For cells dividing exponentially with symmetric cell divisions, PDT is an estimate of the average cell cycle time of cells in the culture.

CULTURE CONDITIONS: Any

CALCULATOR I

The population doubling time of a culture is calculated by the following equation:

PDT in hours =  ln2 * (hours of culture) / ln(fold change in cell number)

(Note: PDT is an estimate of the cell cycle time of the dividing cells in a culture only when the dividing fraction of new cells approaches 100% and the cell death rate is insignificant.)

To Calculate PDT:

Enter:
  • t1, time in hours when culture started (usually 0)
  • t2, time in hours when culture period ended
  • N1, number of cells in culture at time = t1
  • N2, number of cells in culture at time = t2
t1
t2
N1
N2

Result:

USE EXAMPLE:  PDT can be used to quantify and compare the proliferation rate of cultures of bacteria, protozoa, microalgae, plant cells, animal cells, human cells, etc., as well as estimate the average cell cycle time of the cells.