Mounting Media and Antifades

Preserve the fluorescent signal from your sample

Loss of fluorescence through irreversible photobleaching processes can lead to a significant reduction in sensitivity, particularly when target molecules are of low abundance or when excitation light is of high intensity or long duration. The mechanisms associated with photobleaching are also implicated in phototoxicity, which may adversely impact cell viability and data quality.

To minimize photobleaching of experimental samples, we have developed a series of antifade reagents that increase fluorophore photostability in both live-cell and fixed-cell samples. We offer choices for immediate imaging and for long-term storage, plus formulations that include a nuclear stain to combine mounting and counterstaining in a single step. Reduced photobleaching means longer tracking for time-course experiments, higher sensitivity, and better quantitation from fluorescent signals.

Select the antifade that matches your fluorescence imaging needs

	ProLong Glass	ProLong Diamond	ProLong Gold
	Learn more
General specifications
Form	Ready-to-use hard-setting mountant
Refractive index	1.52 (after curing)	1.47 (after curing)	1.47 (after curing)
What type of imaging am I planning?
Specimen type	Animal cells/tissue (fixed)
Live-cell imaging
Fixed-cell, immediate imaging
Fixed-cell, long-term imaging (up to 10 µm sample thickness)
Fixed-cell, long-term imaging (up to 150 µm sample thickness)
What type of microscope objective can produce best results? (All objective types are compatible with these reagents)
Oil immersion objective
Glycerol-corrected objective
Water- or air-corrected objective
What fluorophores does my sample include?
Alexa Fluor dyes
Traditional dyes
Fluorescent proteins
Do I want to add counterstain in the mountant?
Counterstain with DAPI
Counterstain with SYTOX Deep Red
No counterstain

	SlowFade Glass	SlowFade Diamond	SlowFade Gold
	Learn more
General specifications
Form	Ready-to-use soft-setting mountant
Refractive index	1.52	1.42	1.42
What type of imaging am I planning?
Specimen type	Animal cells/tissue (fixed)
Live-cell imaging
Fixed-cell, immediate imaging
Fixed-cell, long-term imaging (up to 10 µm sample thickness)
Fixed-cell, long-term imaging (up to 500 µm sample thickness)
What type of microscope objective can produce best results? (All objective types are compatible with these reagents)
Oil immersion objective
Glycerol-corrected objective
Water- or air-corrected objective
What fluorophores does my sample include?
Alexa Fluor dyes
Traditional dyes
Fluorescent proteins
Do I want to add counterstain in the mountant?
Counterstain with DAPI
Counterstain with SYTOX Deep Red
No counterstain

	ProLong Live
	Learn more
General specifications
Form	100x concentrated liquid
Refractive index	1.3
What type of imaging am I planning?
Specimen type	Animal cells/tissue (live)
Live-cell imaging
Fixed-cell, immediate imaging
Fixed-cell, long-term imaging (up to 10 µm sample thickness)
Fixed-cell, long-term imaging (up to 150 µm sample thickness)
What type of microscope objective can produce best results? (All objective types are compatible with these reagents)
Oil immersion objective
Glycerol-corrected objective
Water- or air-corrected objective
What fluorophores does my sample include?
Alexa Fluor dyes
Traditional dyes
Fluorescent proteins
Do I want to add counterstain in the mountant?
Counterstain with DAPI
Counterstain with SYTOX Deep Red
No counterstain

	ProLong Glass (curing)	SlowFade Glass (non-curing)	CytoVista Reagents (non-curing)
	Learn more	Learn more	Learn more
General Specifications
Form	Ready-to-use, curing (hard-setting) mountant For immediate imaging of samples up to 150 mm thick	Ready-to-use non-curing (soft-set) mountant For immediate imaging of samples up to 500 mm thick	Ready-to-use, non-curing (soft-setting) family of reagents 3D Cell Culture clearing and staining kit for immediate imaging of 3D cell culture (organoids and spheroids up to 1 mm thick) Tissue clearing and staining kit for immediate imaging of thick tissue (up to 10 mm)
Refractive index	1.52 (after curing)	1.52	1.48 (organoids/spheroids up to 1 mm thick) 1.53 (tissue samples up to 10 mm thick)
What type of imaging am I planning?
Specimen type	Animal cells/tissue (fixed)	Animal cells/tissue (fixed)	Animal cells/tissue (fixed)
Fixed-cell imaging, immediate imaging
Fixed-cell, long-term imaging
What is the thickness of my sample?
Up to 10 μm
Up to 150 μm
Up to 500 μm
Up to 1 mm
Up to 10 mm
What type of microscope objective can produce best results? (All objective types are compatible with these reagents)
Oil immersion objective
Glycerol-corrected objective
What fluorophores does my sample include?
Alexa Fluor dyes
Traditional dyes
Fluorescent proteins
Do I want to add counterstain in the mountant?
Counterstain with DAPI
Counterstain with SYTOX Deep Red
No counterstain

	Image-iT Plant Clearing and Mounting Reagents for Imaging
	Learn more
General Specifications
Form	Ready-to-use reagents for clearing and mounting plant tissue for imaging
Refractive index	1.45 (clearing and soft-set mounting option) 1.415 (hard-set mounting option)
What type of imaging am I planning?
Specimen type	Plant cells/tissue section/whole tissue (fixed)
Live-cell imaging
Fixed-cell imaging
Fixed-cell imaging, long-term imaging (up to 10 μM sample thickness)
Fixed-cell imaging, long-term imaging (up to 150 μM sample thickness)
What type of microscope objective can produce best results? (All objective types are compatible with these reagents)
Oil immersion objective
Glycerol-corrected objective
Water- or air-corrected objective
What fluorophores does my sample include?
Most common histological stains
Fluorescent proteins
Do I want to add counterstain in the mountant?
Counterstain with DAPI
Counterstain with SYTOX Deep Red
No counterstain

Learn about techniques and methods for using an antifade, mountant or clearing reagent

Curing (hard-set)

	ProLong Glass	ProLong Diamond	ProLong Gold
	Learn more
General specifications
Form	Ready-to-use hard-setting mountant
Refractive index	1.52 (after curing)	1.47 (after curing)	1.47 (after curing)
What type of imaging am I planning?
Specimen type	Animal cells/tissue (fixed)
Live-cell imaging
Fixed-cell, immediate imaging
Fixed-cell, long-term imaging (up to 10 µm sample thickness)
Fixed-cell, long-term imaging (up to 150 µm sample thickness)
What type of microscope objective can produce best results? (All objective types are compatible with these reagents)
Oil immersion objective
Glycerol-corrected objective
Water- or air-corrected objective
What fluorophores does my sample include?
Alexa Fluor dyes
Traditional dyes
Fluorescent proteins
Do I want to add counterstain in the mountant?
Counterstain with DAPI
Counterstain with SYTOX Deep Red
No counterstain

Non-curing (soft set)

	SlowFade Glass	SlowFade Diamond	SlowFade Gold
	Learn more
General specifications
Form	Ready-to-use soft-setting mountant
Refractive index	1.52	1.42	1.42
What type of imaging am I planning?
Specimen type	Animal cells/tissue (fixed)
Live-cell imaging
Fixed-cell, immediate imaging
Fixed-cell, long-term imaging (up to 10 µm sample thickness)
Fixed-cell, long-term imaging (up to 500 µm sample thickness)
What type of microscope objective can produce best results? (All objective types are compatible with these reagents)
Oil immersion objective
Glycerol-corrected objective
Water- or air-corrected objective
What fluorophores does my sample include?
Alexa Fluor dyes
Traditional dyes
Fluorescent proteins
Do I want to add counterstain in the mountant?
Counterstain with DAPI
Counterstain with SYTOX Deep Red
No counterstain

Live cell

	ProLong Live
	Learn more
General specifications
Form	100x concentrated liquid
Refractive index	1.3
What type of imaging am I planning?
Specimen type	Animal cells/tissue (live)
Live-cell imaging
Fixed-cell, immediate imaging
Fixed-cell, long-term imaging (up to 10 µm sample thickness)
Fixed-cell, long-term imaging (up to 150 µm sample thickness)
What type of microscope objective can produce best results? (All objective types are compatible with these reagents)
Oil immersion objective
Glycerol-corrected objective
Water- or air-corrected objective
What fluorophores does my sample include?
Alexa Fluor dyes
Traditional dyes
Fluorescent proteins
Do I want to add counterstain in the mountant?
Counterstain with DAPI
Counterstain with SYTOX Deep Red
No counterstain

3D cell culture and thick tissue

	ProLong Glass (curing)	SlowFade Glass (non-curing)	CytoVista Reagents (non-curing)
	Learn more	Learn more	Learn more
General Specifications
Form	Ready-to-use, curing (hard-setting) mountant For immediate imaging of samples up to 150 mm thick	Ready-to-use non-curing (soft-set) mountant For immediate imaging of samples up to 500 mm thick	Ready-to-use, non-curing (soft-setting) family of reagents 3D Cell Culture clearing and staining kit for immediate imaging of 3D cell culture (organoids and spheroids up to 1 mm thick) Tissue clearing and staining kit for immediate imaging of thick tissue (up to 10 mm)
Refractive index	1.52 (after curing)	1.52	1.48 (organoids/spheroids up to 1 mm thick) 1.53 (tissue samples up to 10 mm thick)
What type of imaging am I planning?
Specimen type	Animal cells/tissue (fixed)	Animal cells/tissue (fixed)	Animal cells/tissue (fixed)
Fixed-cell imaging, immediate imaging
Fixed-cell, long-term imaging
What is the thickness of my sample?
Up to 10 μm
Up to 150 μm
Up to 500 μm
Up to 1 mm
Up to 10 mm
What type of microscope objective can produce best results? (All objective types are compatible with these reagents)
Oil immersion objective
Glycerol-corrected objective
What fluorophores does my sample include?
Alexa Fluor dyes
Traditional dyes
Fluorescent proteins
Do I want to add counterstain in the mountant?
Counterstain with DAPI
Counterstain with SYTOX Deep Red
No counterstain

Plant cell

	Image-iT Plant Clearing and Mounting Reagents for Imaging
	Learn more
General Specifications
Form	Ready-to-use reagents for clearing and mounting plant tissue for imaging
Refractive index	1.45 (clearing and soft-set mounting option) 1.415 (hard-set mounting option)
What type of imaging am I planning?
Specimen type	Plant cells/tissue section/whole tissue (fixed)
Live-cell imaging
Fixed-cell imaging
Fixed-cell imaging, long-term imaging (up to 10 μM sample thickness)
Fixed-cell imaging, long-term imaging (up to 150 μM sample thickness)
What type of microscope objective can produce best results? (All objective types are compatible with these reagents)
Oil immersion objective
Glycerol-corrected objective
Water- or air-corrected objective
What fluorophores does my sample include?
Most common histological stains
Fluorescent proteins
Do I want to add counterstain in the mountant?
Counterstain with DAPI
Counterstain with SYTOX Deep Red
No counterstain

Learn about techniques and methods for using an antifade, mountant or clearing reagent

Greener products from Thermo Fisher Scientific

image representing Thermo Fisher Scientific's greener products initiative

For added convenience and a reduction in the environmental impact associated with cold storage requirements, our antifade reagents are provided in dropper bottles with storage right at your bench. In addition, these reagents are formulated with reduced sodium azide to help minimize environmental and health hazard exposure risks.

Learn more about these greener product alternatives