AO/PI Cell Staining and Counting Reagent

Acridine orange is a cell-permeable, nucleic acid-selective fluorescent cationic dye that has been used for cell cycle determination and autophagy detection.^1,2,3 It displays excitation/emission maxima of 502/525 nm, respectively, when bound to dsDNA, 460/650 nm, respectively, when bound to ssDNA or RNA, and 475/590 nm, respectively, under acidic conditions.^1,2 Propidium iodide is a fluorescent dye that binds to dsDNA and RNA after cell permeabilization and has been used as a nuclear label for dead cells.⁴ It displays excitation/emission maxima of 488/585 nm, respectively. AO/PI Cell Staining and Counting Reagent contains optimized concentrations of AO and PI for labeling live and dead cells simultaneously. It is suitable for counting cells with a dual channel fluorescence cell counter, flow cytometer, or fluorescence microscope.

WARNING This product is not for human or veterinary use.

1. Virant-Klun, I., Tomazevic, T., and Meden-Vrtovec, H. Sperm single-stranded DNA, detected by acridine orange staining, reduces fertilization and quality of ICSI-derived embryos. J. Assist. Reprod. Genet. 19(7), 319-328 (2002).

2. Han, J., and Burgess, K. Fluorescent indicators for intracellular pH. Chem. Revs. 110(5), 2709-2728 (2010).

3. Thomé, M.P., Filippi-Chiela, E.C., Villodre, E.S., et al. Ratiometric analysis of Acridine Orange staining in the study of acidic organelles and autophagy. J. Cell Sci. 129(24), 4622-4632 (2016).

4. Coder, D.M. Assessment of cell viability. Curr. Protoc. Cytom. Suppl. 15, (1997).