Cell Surface & Membrane Dyes

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.

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.

DiI (DiIC18(3); 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindocarbocyanine) uniformly dissolved in vegetable oil in a formulation optimized for microinjection. Carbocyanine microinjection has been widely used for fate mapping and cell lineage studies and for the determination of spatial organization and connectivity patterns of central nervous systems.

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) .

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

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

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.

DiOC16(3) is a green fluorescent lipophilic cyanine dye with two C16 hydrocarbon chains that can be used to stain cytoplasmic membranes.

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.

Fluorescein-DHPE is a useful surface pH indicator, and has also been used for measuring lateral diffusion in membranes.

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.

NBD-PE (N-(7-Nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)-1,2-dihexadecanoyl-snglycero-3-phosphoethanolamine, triethylammonium salt) in combination with Rhodamine-DHPE (#60026) or Texas Red®-DHPE (#60027) has been used to study membrane fusion via fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) (1-3). NBD-PE has also been used in photobleaching recovery measurement.

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.

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.

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.