{
  "abstract": "Cytoplasmic vacuolization is associated with phagocytosis, lysosomal acidification, and autophagy, yet robust in vitro models for its quantification and pharmacological screening remain limited. Here, we demonstrate that thermally activated calcium sulfate (ACS) induces extensive vacuolization across mammalian cell lines, including HeLa, RAW 264.7, 3T3-L1, and SH-SY5Y, establishing a versatile platform for studying vacuole biogenesis. To improve reproducibility, ACS particle heterogeneity was addressed by sedimentation-based fractionation, with the 5 min fraction producing homogeneous suspensions and stable, consistent vacuole formation. Vacuolization was quantified using Neutral Red (NR) uptake, and dose- and time-dependent analyses demonstrated a direct relationship between ACS concentration and vacuole induction. The assay was validated using bafilomycin A1 (BFA1), a selective V-ATPase inhibitor, which demonstrated concentration- and time-dependent inhibition of vacuole formation and acidification. Screening of ten commercially available drugs revealed distinct responses, including early cytotoxicity, strong vacuole inhibition, partial suppression, or negligible effects. The ability to distinguish vacuole inhibition from cytotoxic responses highlights the utility of ACS-induced vacuolization as a sensitive and scalable in vitro platform for mechanistic studies and functional screening of modulators of lysosomal and phagocytic pathways relevant to infection, lysosomal disorders, and phagocytic dysfunction.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences, Shobhit Institute of Engineering and Technology, NH 58, Meerut 250110, India",
    "Department of Chemistry, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Vishakha Goswami",
      "orcid": "0009-0001-9805-8205"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Abul Faiz"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Gaurav Dutt",
      "orcid": "0009-0005-5681-0402"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Saima Bashir",
      "orcid": "0009-0002-4363-0662"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Arushi Gupta",
      "orcid": "0009-0002-6143-7428"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Snehasish Das",
      "orcid": "0009-0004-5994-7714"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Apurba Gouri",
      "orcid": "0009-0008-9826-2725"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Alpana Joshi",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6417-7663"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Subrata K. Das",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8608-3270"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/92yty7kvy0er9.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/molecules31214022",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "92yty7kvy0er9",
  "issns": [
    "1420-3049"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/31/21/4022",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-11-08",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/92yty7kvy0er9.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-10T00:21:21Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/molecules31214022",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/31/21/4022"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "issn:1420-3049",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Activated CaSO4-Induced Vacuolation as a Quantitative Platform for Phagocytosis-Driven Drug Screening",
  "title_text": "Activated CaSO4-Induced Vacuolation as a Quantitative Platform for Phagocytosis-Driven Drug Screening",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-10T00:21:21Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/92yty7kvy0er9",
  "venue": "Molecules",
  "versions": []
}