Cell Surface & Membrane Dyes

The fluorescence of octadecyl rhodamine B in membranes is quenched at high dye concentration but is released at dilution. This property makes the dye useful for membrane fusion assays.

NBD C6-ceramide (6-((N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)amino)hexanoyl)sphingosine) has been used for following sphingolipid metabolism in cells, and as a selective stain for the Golgi apparatus in live and fixed cells.

NBD C6-sphingomyelin (6-((N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)amino)hexanoyl)sphingosyl phosphocholine) has been used for following sphingolipid metabolism in cells.

Dilinoleyl DiO (1,1′-dilinoleyl-3,3′-oxacarbocynanine perchlorate), also known as FAST DiO™, has identical absorption and emission spectra as DiO (#60011).

Neuro-DiI uniformly dissolved in vegetable oil in a formulation optimized for microinjection. Neuro-DiI was developed at Biotium as an alternative to the widely used fluorescent membrane probe DiI.

Dilinoleyl DiI (1,1′-dilinoleyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindocarbocynanine perchlorate), also known as FAST DiI™, has identical absorption and emission spectra as DiI (#60010) .

DiI (DiIC18(3); 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindocarbocyanine) uniformly dissolved in vegetable oil in a formulation optimized for membrane labeling or cell tracking. Carbocyanine dyes in oil have been widely used for fate mapping, cell lineage studies, pre-labeling cells for transplantation, and neuronal tracing and labeling.

Neuro-DiO is a derivative of DiO and has spectral properties nearly identical to that of the latter. However, unlike DiO, Neuro-DiO is structurally more similar to DiI, which is known to be a much better lipophilic neuronal tracer than regular DiO.

Neuro-DiI was developed at Biotium as an alternative to the widely used fluorescent membrane probe DiI. Neuro-DiI has structural features that may make the probe diffuse faster than DiI on cell membranes and also may result in a more stable labeling.

DiR is a lipophilic, near-infrared fluorescent cyanine dye. The dye is useful for labeling cytoplasmic membranes and has been used for near-infrared in vivo imaging.

DiD (DiIC18(5); 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′- tetramethylindodicarbocyanine, 4-chlorobenzenesulfonate salt) is a lipophilic carbocyanine dye similar to DiI, but with longer absorption and emission wavelengths.

Biotium developed Neuro-DiO as a replacement for the green fluorescent DiO, which has been found to be difficult to use for neurons and cell suspension due to low solubility, tendency to form aggregates and slow lateral diffusion rate.

DiA 4-(4-Dihexadecylaminostyryl)-N-methylpyridinium iodide) is a green fluorescent membrane dye which diffuses much faster than DiO in cell membranes. DiA and DiI (60010) have been used together for two color membrane staining.

DiOC₁₄(3) is a DiO derivative, but is more soluble in aqueous media than the latter because it has shorter hydrocarbon chains. Also see our ready-to-use CellBrite™ Cell Membrane Labeling Solutions.

DiO, also called DiOC₁₈(3), is a green fluorescent, lipophilic carbocyanine dye that is widely used as a lipophilic tracer.

DiI (DiIC₁₈(3); 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindocarbocyanine) is a widely used carbocyanine membrane dye that labels cell membranes by inserting its two long (C₁₈ carbon) hydrocarbon chains into the lipid bilayer. Particularly, it has been extensively used for the anterograde and retrograde labeling of neurons.