Mitochondrial Membrane Potential Apoptosis Kit, with Mitotracker™ Red & Annexin V Alexa Fluor™ 488, for flow cytometry

Q: I want to study apoptosis using an Annexin V conjugate, but with adherent cells via microscopy instead of flow cytometry. Can this be done?

It has been done, but we dont recommend it. Both healthy cells and apoptotic cells possess phosphatidylserine on the cell surface, which can be detected with Annexin V, but apoptotic cells have significantly more of it. You can easily tell the difference between these two populations with flow cytometry, because flow cytometers are more sensitive and have a higher throughput. But with a microscope, you cannot always tell the difference, especially for adherent cells. Instead, for microscopy, we recommend a different technique, such as detecting caspases with CellEvent Caspase Detection Reagents. Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Cell Analysis Support Center .

Mitochondrial Membrane Potential Apoptosis Kit, with Mitotracker™ Red & Annexin V Alexa Fluor™ 488, for flow cytometry - FAQs

2 product FAQs found

What are the fluorescence excitation/emission maxima for the dyes contained in the Mitochondrial Membrane Potential Apoptosis Kit, with Mitotracker Red & Alexa Fluor 488 annexin V, for flow cytometry

Alexa Fluor 488 annexin V: 499/521 nm
MitoTracker Red: 579/599 nm

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Cell Analysis Support Center.

I want to study apoptosis using an Annexin V conjugate, but with adherent cells via microscopy instead of flow cytometry. Can this be done?

It has been done, but we don‘t recommend it. Both healthy cells and apoptotic cells possess phosphatidylserine on the cell surface, which can be detected with Annexin V, but apoptotic cells have significantly more of it. You can easily tell the difference between these two populations with flow cytometry, because flow cytometers are more sensitive and have a higher throughput. But with a microscope, you cannot always tell the difference, especially for adherent cells. Instead, for microscopy, we recommend a different technique, such as detecting caspases with CellEvent Caspase Detection Reagents.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Cell Analysis Support Center.