DASPEI (2-(4-(dimethylamino)styryl)-N-ethylpyridinium iodide)

DASPEI is a styryl dye that stains mitochondria of live cells. This dye has a large fluorescence Stokes shift and is taken up relatively slowly as a function of membrane. The vital mitochondrial dye DASPEI has been used for the rapid visualization of several distinct classes of epidermal cells in vivo and in vitro: epidermal electroreceptors, mechanoreceptors, and chloride cells in teleosts, and mechanoreceptors in amphibians. DASPEI is also used to locate a different type of sensory cells. In vivo, bath-applied DASPEI stains entire larvae in a relatively non-specific fashion.