The Viability/Cytotoxicity Assay Kit for Animal Live & Dead Cells contains two dyes (calcein AM and EthD-III) for distinguishing live and dead cells.
Features
- Fluorescence detection of live & dead cells
- Calcein AM stains live cells with active esterase activity green
- EthD-III stains dead cells with compromised membranes red
- For fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, or fluorescence microplate reader
Kit Components
- Calcein AM, 4 mM in DMSO
- EthD-III, 2 mM in DMSO/H2O
Spectral Properties (Ex/Em)
- Calcein AM (hydrolyzed, pH 8): 494/517 nm
- EthD-III (with DNA): 279, 532/625 nm
The assay employs two probes that detect intracellular esterase activity in live cells and compromised plasma membrane integrity in dead cells. The esterase substrate calcein AM stains live cells green, while the membrane-impermeable DNA dye ethidium homodimer III (EthD-III) stains dead cells red. The kit is suitable for detection using fluorescence microscopy, fluorescence microplate reader, or flow cytometry. This fluorescence-based method of assessing cell viability can be used in place of trypan blue exclusion, 51Cr release, and similar methods for determining cell viability and cytotoxicity.
EthD-III is a proprietary DNA stain developed to be a superior alternative to the spectrally similar dye ethidium homodimer I (EthD-I). EthD-III has higher DNA binding affinity and brighter fluorescence (45% brighter than EthD-I).