Cell Membrane Staining Kit (DiI)

DiI, also called DiIC₁₈(3), is an orange fluorescent probe that is widely used as a lipophilic tracker in living and fixed tissues and cells. DiI can insert into the membrane, and diffuse rapidly, staining the entire membrane surface orange. DiI usually does not affect cell viability and development, so it is commonly used in cell tracking, such as anterograde and retrograde neuronal tracking. DiI has remained viable for up to four weeks in culture and up to one year in vivo.

DiI staining can be used in conjunction with immunofluorescence. It is recommended to use formaldehyde (PFA) for fixation after DiI staining. Meanwhile, if permeabilization is required, it is suggested to use Triton X-100 or digitonin. But permeabilization may affect the localization of DiI in the cell membrane. In addition, DiI has many other applications including detecting cell-cell fusion and adhesion, tracking cell migration, and labeling lipoproteins.   

This kit is an optimized DiI staining kit that not only provides ready-to-use DiI dye, but also provides a Staining Enhancer for better staining results and lower staining background. For 96-well plates, the kit can be used 1000 times using 100 μL of staining solution per well.