Nile red (also known as Nile blue oxazone) is a lipophilic stain. It has environment-sensitive fluorescence. Nile red is intensely fluorescent in a lipid-rich environment while it has minimal fluorescence in aqueous media.

Nile red is a fluorescent probe commonly used for the detection of intracellular lipid droplets. It displays excitation/emission maxima of 529/576 nm, respectively, for neutral lipids. It is selective for neutral lipids at emission wavelengths of 580 nm or lower, but, at higher emission wavelengths, phospholipid...

Green to brown powder. Soluble in chloroform. Uncharged, hydrophobic, photostable fluorescent probe that strongly fluoresces bright red in hydrophobic (lipid-rich) environments, but is almost nonfluorescent in water. This lipophilic stain is commonly used for the detection of intracellular lipid droplets by...