DiI iodide [1,1-Dioctadecyl-3,3,3,3- tetramethylindocarbocyanine iodide]

DiI, DiO, DiD and DiR dyes are a family of lipophilic fluorescent stains for labeling membranes and other hydrophobic structures. The fluorescence of these environment-sensitive dyes is greatly enhanced when incorporated into membranes or bound to lipophilic biomolecules such as proteins although they are weakly fluorescent in water. They have high extinction coefficients, polarity-dependent fluorescence and short excited-state lifetimes. Once applied to cells, these dyes diffuse laterally within the cellular plasma membranes, resulting in even staining of the entire cell at their optimal concentrations. The distinct fluorescence colors of DiI (orange fluorescence), DiO (green fluorescence), DiD (red fluorescence) and DiR (deep red fluorescent) provide a convenient tool for multicolor imaging and flow cytometric analysis of live cells. DiO and DiI can be used with standard FITC and TRITC filters respectively. Among them DiI and its analogs are most frequently used since they usually exhibit very low cell toxicity. In addition, DiI is widely used for determining lipoproteins such as LDL and HDL.