Cell surface staining kits, MemBrite™ Fix

MemBrite™ Fix cell surface staining kits are designed for covalently staining the surface of live cells to conveniently visualise cell boundaries in immunofluorescence experiments.

• Rapid, uniform live cell surface staining
• Covalent fluorescent labelling can be fixed and permeabilised for IF staining
• Stain mammalian cells, yeast, or gram-positive bacteria
• Choose from 12 bright and photostable dye colours from blue to near-IR
• MemBrite™ Fix-ST dyes for super-resolution STORM imaging

These stains are novel reactive fluorescent dyes stains that react irreversibly with cell surface proteins, for staining that can withstand formaldehyde or alcohol fixation, and detergent permeabilisation. Unlike lectins such as WGA, which bind specific targets that may vary between cell types, MemBrite™ Fix dyes react widely with cell surface proteins. Its staining is rapid and non-toxic to cells, and because MemBrite™ Fix dyes are highly water soluble, they stain cells much more evenly than traditional lipophilic membrane dyes like DiO, DiI, PKH, Vybrant®, or CellMask™.

MemBrite™ Fix dyes must be used to stain live cells before fixation, and are designed to be fixed shortly after staining; they also can be used to stain yeast and gram-positive bacteria, but not gram-negative bacteria. The dyes are named for their Abs/Em maxima. MemBrite™ Fix-ST dyes are designed specifically for super-resolution imaging by STORM. Other MemBrite™ Fix dyes have been validated in specialised imaging applications including SIM, STED, STORM, TIRF, and 2-photon microscopy; see the ordering table for details.