The Mito-ID® Membrane Potential Detection Kit has been optimized for measurement of mitochondria membrane potential (MMP) and cell viability by conventional fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry.

Cell-based assays for evaluating the functional status of mitochondria are emerging as useful tools for elucidating the role of mitochondrial activity in drug-induced toxicity, the apoptosis cascade and other cellular and biochemical processes

Mito-ID® Membrane Potential Detection Kit measures mitochondrial membrane potential with a cationic dye that fluoresces either green or orange depending upon membrane potential status. In energized cells, the Mito-ID® Membrane Potential reagent exists as a green fluorescent monomer in the cytosol and also accumulates as orange-fluorescent aggregates in the mitochondria. However, in cells with compromised mitochondrial membrane potential, the Mito-ID® Membrane Potential reagent exists primarily as green-fluorescent monomers throughout the cytosol and no longer exhibits orange fluorescence in the mitochondria.

The loss of the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) is often associated with early stages of apoptosis. The collapse of MMP coincides with the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pores, leading to the release of cytochrome C into the cytosol, which in turn triggers other downstream events in the apoptotic cascade.