SlowFade™ Diamond Antifade Mountant with DAPI

Our ProLong antifade reagents dispense as a liquid that will solidify upon the evaporation of water. SlowFade antifade reagents remain liquid. If you are going to image right away and then dispose of your sample, you do not need a mountant that hardens, such as the SlowFade reagents. If you wish to archive your slide for more than a day, you will want a mounting medium that hardens (or “cures”). This hardening will limit the off-rates of various dye-conjugated antibodies and provides a better refractive index. Also, there will be a lower diffusion rate of free radicals, limiting photobleaching.

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

If you are going to image right away and then dispose of your sample, you probably want a mountant that does not harden. If you wish to archive your slide for more than a day, you want a mountant that hardens (or "cures"). This hardening will slow or prevent off-rate of your dye or conjugate and often produces a better refractive index. Secondary sealing is usually not necessary. Also there will be lower diffusion of free radicals, thus limiting photobleaching.

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

We offer ProLong Coverslip Sealant (Cat. No. P56128) that can be used to seal the edges of the coverslip and is compatible with both curing and non-curing mountant. The sealant is easy to apply and is brushed on after the mountant has cured, for long preservation of slides. The product page can be found here.

When using a hard-curing mountant, such as ProLong Antifade Mountant, make sure the mountant is fully cured before applying ProLong Coverslip Sealant. Since this sealant can seal moisture under the coverslip, it can interfere with the curing process.

When using a non-curing mountant, such as SlowFade Antifade Mountants, sealing can take place immediately after mounting.

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

No. Samples mounted with SlowFade mountants need not be sealed; they are intended for immediate viewing. The coverslip may be anchored (to prevent movement while viewing) by applying molten paraffin to three or four spots around the edge of the coverslip.

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

As dyes are illuminated for imaging, they will fade, or “photobleach”, leading to unwanted dimming and lower detection efficiency over time. An antifade mounting medium can greatly reduce photobleaching. If you wish to label live cells, use of ProLong Live Antifade Reagent is helpful. If you wish to mount fixed cells after labeling, and then image immediately and then discard, SlowFade Diamond Antifade Mountant stays liquid but has good refractive index. If you wish to mount your sample and then archive the slides, ProLong Diamond Antifade Mountant will harden to a better refractive index and allow for archiving of the sample for up to several weeks, or even months. Unlike other antifade mounting media, these work well with fluorescent proteins for immediate viewing (archiving fluorescent proteins is not possible), and they are packaged with or without DAPI. More information on these can be found here (https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/life-science/cell-analysis/cellular-imaging/fluorescence-microscopy-and-immunofluorescence-if/mounting-medium-antifades/prolong-gold-antifade.html).

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