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Live Cell Imaging Reagents

Live U937 cells stained with CellVue® Claret Far Red Fluorescent Dye and DAPI

Live cell imaging in real time allows scientists to monitor dynamic cellular events that otherwise escape observation using traditional endpoint techniques like fixed imaging and PCR that capture only a static moment in time. Our portfolio of live cell imaging reagents includes novel fluorescent cell labeling technologies for cell tracking, fluorescent lentiviral biosensors, traditional fluorescent dyes and probes to analyze cellular events in real-time. These reagents are optimal for capturing dynamic cellular events with real-time incubation and imaging systems like the CellASIC® ONIX2 Microfluidic live cell imaging system.

Section Overview

PKH and CellVue® Fluorescent Cell Linker Labeling

PKH and CellVue® Fluorescent Cell Linker Kits provide fluorescent membrane labeling of live cells for long-term live cell imaging experiments.

Key attributes of PKH and CellVue® dyes include:

  • Stable for up to 100 days on live cells in vivo
  • Safe for eukaryotic cells, bacterial cells, and parasites
  • No significant dye leakage or cell-to-cell transfer
  • Uniform and reproducible signal
  • Spectrally different dyes allow multicolor analysis
  • Compatible with other fluorescent labels
  • Cited in over 7,000 publications

LentiBrite™ Fluorescent Lentiviral Biosensors

LentiBrite™ Fluorescent Lentiviral Biosensors are a suite of pre-packaged lentiviral particles that code for fluorescent proteins associated with autophagy, apoptosis, and cell structure for insights from these processes in live cells.

Lentiviral Biosensors feature:

  • Pre-packaged, ready-to-use format, tagged with monomeric GFP & RFP
  • Minimum titer (≥3 x 108 IFU/mL) per vial
  • Superior transfection efficiency to chemical-based methods
  • For dividing, non-dividing, and hard-to-transfect cells like primary cells or stem cells
  • Non-disruptive of cellular function

BioTracker Live Cell Fluorescent Dyes and Stains

BioTracker Live Cell dyes are cell-permeable dyes for live-cell applications such as organelle labeling, apoptosis detection, cell viability and cell health analysis, hypoxia monitoring, reactive oxygen species tracking, calcium indicator function, and neural and stem cell (SCR150, SCT029, SCT046) cultures.

LuminiCell Tracker™ Fluorescent Nanoparticles​

LuminiCell Tracker™ fluorescent nanoparticles provide an effective, simple, and nontoxic reagent for long-term cell tracking experiments.  Based on aggregation-induced emission (AIE) technology, these cell tracking dyes have been encapsulated into biocompatible, cell-permeable, fluorescent nanoparticles (AIE Dot) that provide enhanced photostability, ultra-bright fluorescence, and low cellular toxicity for bioimaging applications over extended periods of time.​

  • Brighter: 10X brighter than many alternative cell labeling technologies​
  • Photostable: 3X fluorescence longevity, without signal quenching​
  • Biocompatible: Nontoxic organic nanoparticles developed for biological applications​
  • Rapid Protocol: Easy-to-follow protocol labels cells in four hours or less

Related Product Resources

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Related Videos

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Live Cell Imaging of Hypoxia in Cancer Cells using the CellASIC<sup>®</sup> ONIX2 Microfluidic System
Live Cell Imaging of Hypoxia in Cancer Cells using the CellASIC® ONIX2 Microfluidic System
A431 epidermal carcinoma cells (85090402) were incubated 16 hours overnight with 3µM BioTracker 520 Green Hypoxia Dye (SCT033) in complete DMEM by gravity perfusion at 37°C under normoxic conditions (20% O2) using the CellASIC® ONIX2 System. After overnight incubation, cells were perfused with complete DMEM media without dye at 1 psi under hypoxic conditions (0% O2) for 16 hours at 37°C. Fluorescent images were captured over 16 hours using 465 nm excitation, and a 525 nm emission filter. The BioTracker 520 Green Hypoxia Dye increases in fluorescence intensity with decreasing oxygen levels (increased hypoxic conditions).
Live Cell Imaging of p62 using LentiBrite™ Fluorescent Biosensors
Live Cell Imaging of p62 using LentiBrite™ Fluorescent Biosensors
Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), were plated in a chamber slide and transduced with LentiBrite™ RFP-p62 lentiviral particles at an MOI of 40 for 24 hours. After media replacement and 24 hours further incubation, cells were incubated for 4 hours in EBSS containing a lysosome inhibitor, to induce autophagy and inhibit lysosomal degradation of autophagosomes.
Live Cell Imaging of β-Actin Cytoskeleton Proteins using LentiBrite™ Fluorescent Biosensors
Live Cell Imaging of β-Actin Cytoskeleton Proteins using LentiBrite™ Fluorescent Biosensors
U2OS cells were plated in a chamber slide and transduced with LentiBrite™ GFP-β-actin lentiviral particles at an MOI of 20 for 24 hours. After media replacement and an additional 48 hours of further incubation, the cells were treated with 2 µM cytochalasin-D for another 2 hours, to induce actin depolymerization. The GFP- β -actin displays a filamentous distribution in the untreated cells, and upon actin depolymerization, adopts a punctate distribution. LentiBrite™ Lentiviral Biosensors are a new suite of pre-packaged lentiviral particles encoding important and foundational proteins of autophagy, apoptosis, and cell structure for visualization under different cell/disease states in live cell and in vitro analysis.
Live Cell Imaging of Autophagy using LentiBrite™ Fluorescent Biosensors
Live Cell Imaging of Autophagy using LentiBrite™ Fluorescent Biosensors
HT-1080 cells were plated in a chamber slide and transduced with LentiBrite™ GFP-LC3 lentiviral particles at an MOI of 20 for 24 hours. After media replacement and 48 hours further incubation, cells were incubated for 4 hours in EBSS containing a lysosome inhibitor, to induce autophagy and inhibit lysosomal degradation of autophagosomes. LentiBrite™ Lentiviral Biosensors are a new suite of pre-packaged lentiviral particles encoding important and foundational proteins of autophagy, apoptosis, and cell structure for visualization under different cell/disease states in live cell and in vitro analysis.
Live Cell Imaging of Apoptosis in Immune Cells using the CellASIC® ONIX2 Microfluidic System
Live Cell Imaging of Apoptosis in Immune Cells using the CellASIC® ONIX2 Microfluidic System
Live Cell Imaging of Apoptosis in Immune Cells using the CellASIC® ONIX2 Microfluidic System
Optimized Staining and Proliferation Modeling Methods for Cell Division Monitoring using Cell Tracking Dyes
Optimized Staining and Proliferation Modeling Methods for Cell Division Monitoring using Cell Tracking Dyes
Fluorescent cell tracking dyes, in combination with flow and image cytometry, are powerful tools with which to study the interactions and fates of different cell types in vitro and in vivo.
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