PAC-1 (Procaspase activating compound 1) has been used in trials studying the treatment of Lymphoma, Melanoma, Solid Tumors, Breast Cancer, and Thoracic Cancers, among others.

In vitro procaspase-3 activation: Procaspase-3 is expressed and purified in Escherichia coli. Various concentrations of PAC-1 are added to 90 μL of a 50 ng/mL of procaspase-3 in caspase assay buffer in a 96-well plate, The plate is incubated for 12 hours at 37 °C. A 10 μL volume of a 2 mM solution of caspase-3 peptidic substrate acetyl Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-p-nitroanilide (Ac-DEVD-pNa) in caspase assay buffer is then added to each well. The plate is read every 2 minutes at 405 nm for 2 hours in a Spectra Max Plus 384 well plate reader. The slope of the linear portion for each well is determined, and the relative increase in activation from untreated control wells is calculated.

Cells are exposed to various concentrations of PAC-1 for 72 hours. Cell death is quantified by the addition of MTS/PMS CellTiter 96 Cell Proliferation Assay reagent. The plates are incubated at 37 °C for approximately 1 hour (until the colored product formed), and the absorbance is measured at 490 n(Only for Reference)