AO/PI Cell Staining and Counting Reagent

Acridine orange is a cell-permeable, nucleic acid-selective fluorescent cationic dye that has been used for cell cycle determination and autophagy detection. It displays excitation/emission maxima of 502/525 nm, respectively, when bound to dsDNA, 460/650 nm, respectively, when bound to ssDNA or RNA, and 475/590 nm, respectively, under acidic conditions. Propidium iodide is a fluorescent dye that binds to dsDNA and RNA after cell permeabilization and has been used as a nuclear label for dead cells. It displays excitation/emission maxima of 488/585 nm, respectively. AO/PI Cell Staining and Counting Reagent contains optimized concentrations of AO and PI for labeling live and dead cells simultaneously. It is suitable for counting cells with a dual channel fluorescence cell counter, flow cytometer, or fluorescence microscope.