# Four-panel figure: cell viability and cytotoxicity

> A cell-based assay figure: the treatment workflow on a 96-well plate, live/dead fluorescence images of control and treated cells, dose–response curves with fitted IC₅₀ values for two cell lines, and viability at one dose with every replicate and a one-way ANOVA against the control.

- Page: https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/multipanel/four-panel-figure-cell-viability-cytotoxicity
- Open in the LabCanvas editor (LabCanvas account): https://www.labcanvas.com/editor.html?template=multipanel-cell-viability-cytotoxicity
- Updated: 2026-10-14
- Category: Multipanel figures
- Method: Worked examples
- Product: A 2 × 2 figure (a–d) for an in vitro efficacy or toxicity study
- Key result: Example data from logistic curves with noise; images drawn
- Figure: 657.64 × 358.35 px, 147 editable layers (6 generated objects with settings)

## Steps

1. **a · Workflow**: Seed, treat and read a 96-well plate: times and conditions as badges
2. **b · Images**: Live (green), nuclei (blue) and dead (red) cells, untreated and treated: drawn stand-ins with 100 µm scale bars
3. **c · Dose–response**: Mean ± SEM of triplicates with a four-parameter logistic fit for each cell line
4. **d · One dose**: Every replicate on the bars, one-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s test against the control

## Strengths

- Shows every data point (Weissgerber et al. 2015)
- Statistics computed in the graph and updated with the data

## Limitations

- Example values only

## Uses

- Drug, nanoparticle and material toxicity
- Screening hits

## References

1. Weissgerber, Milic, Winham & Garovic, “Beyond bar and line graphs: time for a new data presentation paradigm”, PLoS Biol. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002128 (review)
2. Rougier, Droettboom & Bourne, “Ten simple rules for better figures”, PLoS Comput. Biol. 2014. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003833 (review)

Credit: Example data generated for this template; micrographs are drawn stand-ins. Replace them with your own.

## Questions

**What does the “Four-panel figure: cell viability and cytotoxicity” template show?** A cell-based assay figure: the treatment workflow on a 96-well plate, live/dead fluorescence images of control and treated cells, dose–response curves with fitted IC₅₀ values for two cell lines, and viability at one dose with every replicate and a one-way ANOVA against the control.

**What are the steps shown in “Four-panel figure: cell viability and cytotoxicity”?** 1. a · Workflow: Seed, treat and read a 96-well plate: times and conditions as badges. 2. b · Images: Live (green), nuclei (blue) and dead (red) cells, untreated and treated: drawn stand-ins with 100 µm scale bars. 3. c · Dose–response: Mean ± SEM of triplicates with a four-parameter logistic fit for each cell line. 4. d · One dose: Every replicate on the bars, one-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s test against the control.

**Which papers is “Four-panel figure: cell viability and cytotoxicity” based on?** Weissgerber, Milic, Winham & Garovic, “Beyond bar and line graphs: time for a new data presentation paradigm”, PLoS Biol. 2015 (doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1002128); Rougier, Droettboom & Bourne, “Ten simple rules for better figures”, PLoS Comput. Biol. 2014 (doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003833).

**Can I edit the “Four-panel figure: cell viability and cytotoxicity” template?** Yes. Open it in the LabCanvas editor: all 147 layers are editable, including 6 generated objects (structures, plots, equipment) with their own settings. Change the text, colours and layout, then export PNG, TIFF, SVG or PDF.

**Do I need an account to use this template?** Not to view it here. To open and edit it, sign in to LabCanvas or create a free account (the free plan keeps up to 3 designs). Downloading the figure is part of LabCanvas Pro (US$19 a month or US$199 a year).