Fixable Viability Dyes for Flow Cytometry

The ability to stain live cells with a viability dye and preserve that staining pattern after fixation is critical for intracellular immunophenotyping. Exclusion of the dead cells from the data allows cleaner separation and identification of cell populations. The Invitrogen LIVE/DEAD Fixable Viability Dyes are fixable viability dyes that help ensure accurate assessment of cell viability in samples after fixation and/or permeabilization.

These flow cytometry–based kits offer you tools that are:

• Flexible—14 different LIVE/DEAD dyes excited from UV, 405, 488, 532, 561, 633, or 808 nm lasers and emission choices to different channels
• Robust—clear distinction of live and dead cells is preserved for up to 30 days after fixation
• Simple—fit into almost any staining and immunophenotyping protocol
• Exceptional choices—14 novel spectral signatures

• Fixable viability dyes for flow cytometry selection guide
• LIVE/DEAD fixable technology

LIVE/DEAD Fixable Dead Cell Stain kits are fixable viability dyes that distinguish live cells from dead cells based on cell membrane integrity and access to available amines. Cells can then be fixed for intracellular antigen detection without loss of original cell staining pattern. Allows easy exclusion of dead cells from flow cytometry readout. Dead cells are highly fluorescent and easy to distinguish from live cells, which are stained with minimal fluorescence.

All products come in three quantity options: 80, 200, 400 assays.

Explore : Additional Cell Viability Assays

Explore: Microplate Assays for Cell Viability

LIVE/DEAD Fixable Viability Stain Kits are based on the reaction of a fluorescent reactive dye with cellular proteins (amines). These dyes cannot penetrate live cell membranes, so only cell surface proteins are available to react with the dye, resulting in dim staining (Figure 1, LIVE). The reactive dye can permeate the damaged membranes of dead cells and stain both the interior and exterior amines, resulting in more intense staining (Figure 1, DEAD).

The difference in fluorescence intensity between the live and dead cell populations is typically greater than 50-fold, thereby allowing complete, simultaneous discrimination between the two cell populations (Figure 2A). Additionally, the covalent attachment of the dyes to proteins allows preservation of discrimination of the live and dead cell populations following fixation with formaldehyde, commonly used for intracellular immunophenotyping and to inactivate pathogens (Figure 2B). In contrast, non-fixable dyes including propidium iodide (PI) (Figure 3) lose staining pattern after fixation (Figure 3B).