Thermo Scientific Pierce Hoechst 33342 Fluorescent Stain is a high-quality solution of Hoechst dye for fixed- and live-cell fluorescent staining of DNA and nuclei in cellular imaging techniques.

Features of Hoechst 33342 Fluorescent Stain:

• Hoechst dye—blue fluorescent stain specific for DNA (i.e., nuclei of eukaryotic cells)
• Convenient—provided as an easy-to-use Hoechst dye solution (20 mM)
• Cellular imaging—cell-permeable dye is effective for fixed-cell and live-cell staining
• Counterstain—ideal for use alongside detection of specific targets with fluorescent antibodies for fluorescence microscopy or high-content screening (HCS)

Hoechst 33342 (2'-[4-ethoxyphenyl]-5-[4-methyl-1-piperazinyl]-2,5'-bi-1H-benzimidazole trihydrochloride trihydrate) is a cell-permeable DNA stain that is excited by ultraviolet light and emits blue fluorescence at 460 to 490 nm. Hoechst 33342 binds preferentially to adenine-thymine (A-T) regions of DNA. This stain binds into the minor groove of DNA and exhibits distinct fluorescence emission spectra that are dependent on dye:base pair ratios.

Properties of Hoechst Fluorescent Dye
As a counterstain in fluorescent imaging, Hoechst dye is compatible with antibodies and other probes labeled with fluorescein and rhodamine dyes, as well as with Thermo Scientific DyLight Fluors. The stable 20 mM aqueous stock solution is essentially ready for use.

Hoechst 33342 is used for specifically staining the nuclei of living or fixed cells and tissues. This stain is commonly used in combination with 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling to distinguish the compact chromatin of apoptotic nuclei, to identify replicating cells and to sort cells based on their DNA content. Hoechst 33342 and propidium iodide are frequently used together for simultaneous flow cytometric and fluorescence imaging analysis of the stages of apoptosis and cell-cycle distribution.