NucGreen™ Dead 488 ReadyProbes™ Reagent is a cell-impermeant stain that emits exceptionally bright, green fluorescence when bound to DNA. Cells that have lost plasma membrane integrity are stained within minutes, making this an extremely useful stain to estimate live/dead cell ratios and to measure cytotoxicity in kinetic live-cell assays. It is also suitable for staining nuclei in fixed cell preparations and tissue sections. Like other ReadyProbes™ reagents, NucGreen™ Dead 488 reagent is formulated as a room temperature-stable solution and comes in a convenient dropper bottle. Just tip and drip two drops per ml to stain your cells.

NucGreen™ Dead 488 ReadyProbes™ Reagent provides:
• Exceptionally bright green fluorescence upon binding to DNA
• Rapid staining of damaged, dead, or fixed cells without wash steps
• Ready-to-use liquid formulation in convenient dropper bottle—no need to dilute, weigh, or pipette
• Stability at room temperature—keep handy at your scope or cell culture area

Green Dead Cell Nuclear Stain for Cellular Imaging
The membrane-impermeable NucGreen™ Dead 488 reagent is a high-affinity DNA stain that easily stains cells with compromised cell membranes, yet does not enter living cells. It is therefore ideal for discrimination of live and dead cells. The fluorescence increases more than 500-fold on binding to dsDNA in cells with compromised cell membranes (dying or dead cells), in fixed cells, and tissue slices. The spectral properties, with excitation/emission at 504/523 nm when bound to DNA, are ideal for standard FITC filters.

Packaged for Convenience
NucGreen™ Dead 488 ReadyProbes™ Reagent is supplied ready-to-use and can be stored right next to your microscope or workstation. A liquid formulation in an ultra convenient dropper bottle (Figure 2) allows you to stain your cells whenever and wherever they are ready. Just add two drops per ml for optimally bright and distinct nuclear counter-staining.

Multiple Applications
The properties of NucGreen™ Dead 488 ReadyProbes™ Reagent (excitation/emission of 638/686 nm) make it ideal for live/dead cell discrimination. It can also be used for staining of fixed cells or tissue slices and for counting dead cells.

Suggestions for Use
• NucGreen™ Dead 488 reagent may be added directly to cells in full media or buffer solutions
• It easily stains nuclei of fixed cells and tissue slices
• In most cases, 2 drops/ml and an incubation time of 15 to 30 minutes will give bright nuclear staining; however, optimization may be needed for some cell types, conditions, and applications. In such cases, simply add more or fewer drops until the optimal staining intensity is obtained. In most cases, staining intensity increases with time if cells are not washed prior to imaging.
• NucGreen™ Live 488 dye is excited with a maximum at 504 nm when bound to DNA, with an emission maximum at 523 nm. It is detected through standard GFP and FITC filters.

See other Molecular Probes® imaging tools and reagents.