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Can Live or Dead™ Fixable Dead Cell Staining Kit (Cat# 22601) be used to stain cells after fixation?

Posted April 2, 2019


I am performing a migration assay and the protocol requires the cells to be fixed after migration and then stained. Can I use Cat# 22601?

Answer

Our Live or Dead Fixable Dead Cell Staining Kits are designed for evaluating the viability of cells. For viable cells, only the cell-surface amines are available to react with the probe resulting in a very weak fluorescent signal. For cells expressing compromised membranes, such as necrotic or apoptotic cells, the probe reacts with cell surface amines as well as intracellular amines, resulting in a more intense fluorescence signal. The difference in fluorescence intensity can be completely persevered after fixation. Therefore, we recommend staining your cells prior to fixation. Because fixating cells compromises the integrity of the cell membrane, staining any fixed cells after fixation with Cat# 22601 will result in a very intense fluorescence stain.

Additional resources

Live or Dead™ Fixable Dead Cell Staining Kit *Green Fluorescence* Product Page