Assay type/options DNA content/cell cycle profiling by flow cytometry, No-wash staining, Short term staining ( 24h) Detection method/readout Fluorescence microscopy, Flow cytometry, Near-IR imager Product shipping, storage, shelf life, solubility Where can I find the expiration date or shelf life of a product? Bioscience kitsThe guaranteed shelf life from date of receipt for bioscience kits is listed on the product information sheet. Some kits have an expiration date printed on the kit box label, this is the guaranteed shelf life date calculated from the day that the product shipped from our facility. Kits often are functional for significantly longer than the guaranteed shelf life. If you have an older kit in storage that you wish to use, we recommend performing a small scale positive control experiment to confirm that the kit still works for your application before processing a large number of samples or precious samples.Antibodies and other conjugatesThe guaranteed shelf life from date of receipt for antibodies and conjugates is listed on the product information sheet. Antibodies and other conjugates often are functional for significantly longer than the guaranteed shelf life. If you have an older conjugate in storage that you wish to use, we recommend performing a small scale positive control experiment to confirm that the product still works for your application before processing a large number of samples or precious samples.For lyophilized antibodies, we recommend reconstituting the antibody with glycerol and antimicrobial preservative like sodium azide for the longest shelf life (note that sodium azide is not compatible with HRP-conjugates).Chemicals, dyes, and gel stainsBiotium guarantees the stability of chemicals, dyes, and gel stains for at least a year from the date you receive the product. However, the majority of these products are highly stable for many years, as long as they are stored as recommended. Storage conditions can be found on the product information sheet or product safety and data sheet, material safety data sheet, and on the product label. Fluorescent compounds should be protected from light for long term storage.If you have a Biotium compound that has been in storage for longer than one year that you wish to use, we recommend performing a small scale positive control experiment to confirm that the compound still works for your application before processing a large number of samples or precious samples.Expiration date based on date of manufacture (DOM)If your institution requires you to document expiration date based on date of manufacture for reagents, please contact techsupport@biotium.com for assistance.Chemical products with special stability considerations:EstersEster compounds include the following:• Succinimidyl esters (SE, also known as NHS esters), such as our amine-reactive dyes• Acetoxymethyl esters (AM esters) such as our membrane-permeable ion indicator dyes• Diacetate-modified dyes, like ViaFluor™ 405, CFDA, and CFDA-SE cell viability/cell proliferation dyesEster dyes are stable in solid form as long as they are protected from light and moisture. Esters are not stable in aqueous solution. Concentrated stock solutions should be prepared in anhydrous DMSO (see Biotium catalog no. 90082). Stock solutions in anhydrous DMSO can be stored desiccated at -20°C for one month or longer. Esters should be diluted in aqueous solution immediately before use. Succinimidyl esters (SE) should be dissolved in a solution that is free of amine-containing compounds like Tris, glycine, or protein, which will react with the SE functional group. AM esters and diacetate compounds should be dissolved in a solution that is free of serum, because serum could contain esterases that would hydrolyze the compound.A note on CF™ dye succinimidyl ester stabilitySuccinimidyl esters are generally susceptible to hydrolysis, which can result in lower labeling efficiency. Heavily sulfonated dyes, such as the Alexa Fluor® dyes, DyLight® dyes and IRDyes® are particularly hygroscopic, worsening the hydrolysis problem. For example, the percent of active Alexa Fluor® 488 succinimidyl ester (SE) could be well below 50% by the time of application (according to the manufacturer’s product datasheet). In a number of Alexa Fluor® SE reactive dyes, the SE group is derived from an aromatic carboxylic acid, while in all of Biotium’s CF™ dyes the SE group is prepared from an aliphatic carboxylic acid. This structural difference reduces the susceptibility of CF™ dye SE reactive groups to hydrolysis, resulting in relatively stable reactive dyes with consistently higher labeling efficiency compared to other SE derivatives of other fluorescent dyes.Maleimides, MTS and thiosulfate dyesLike the succinimidyl ester dyes, these dyes are also susceptible to hydrolysis, although generally to a much lower degree. Thus, for long term storage, anhydrous DMSO is recommended for making stock solutions.Other reactive dyesAmines, aminooxy (also known as oxylamine), hydrazide, azide, alkyne, BCN, and tyramide reactive dyes, as well as dye free acids, are generally stable in aqueous solution when stored at -20°C for 6-12 months or longer, as long as no compounds are present that may react with the dye’s functional group. See the product information sheets for specific reactive dyes more information.Coelenterazines and D-luciferinCoelenterazines are stable in solid form when stored as recommended; they are not stable in aqueous solution. Concentrated coelenterazine stock solutions (typically 1-100 mg/mL) should be prepared in ethanol or methanol; do not use DMSO or DMF to dissolve coelenterazines, because these solvents will oxidize the compounds. Ethanol or methanol stocks of coelenterazine can be stored at -20°C or below for six months or longer; alcohol stocks may evaporate during storage, so use tightly sealing screw cap vials and wrap the vials with Parafilm for long term storage. Propylene glycol also can be used as a solvent to minimize evaporation. If the solvent evaporates, the coelenterazine will still be present in the vial, so note the volume in the vial prior to storage so that you can adjust the solvent volume to correct for evaporation if needed. Prepare working solutions in aqueous buffers immediately before use. Coelenterazines are stable for up to five hours in aqueous solution.Aquaphile™ coelenterazines are water soluble formulations of coelenterazines. They are stable in solid form when stored as recommended. Aquaphile™ coelenterazines should be dissolved in aqueous solution immediately before use. They are stable for up to five hours in aqueous solution.Note that coelenterazines are predominantly yellow solids, but may contain dark red or brown flecks. This does not affect product stability or performance. If your coelenterazine is uniformly brown, then it is oxidized and needs to be replaced.D-luciferin is stable in solid form and as a concentrated stock solution when stored as recommended; it is not stable at dilute working concentrations in aqueous solution. Prepare concentrated D-luciferin stock solutions (typically 1-100 mg/mL) in water, and store in aliquots at -20°C or below for six months or longer. Prepare working solutions immediately before use. View more FAQs My product arrived at room temperature or thawed, but it’s supposed to be stored at 4°C or -20°C. Is it still ok? Most of our products are stable at room temperature for many days, but we recommend storage at 4°C or -20°C to prolong shelf life. In the case of many of our aqueous dye solutions, the compounds are very stable at room temperature, but we recommend cold storage to prevent the growth of mold or other microbes over time. Therefore, to save on shipping costs, products with recommended storage at 4°C or -20°C may ship at ambient temperature or with an ice pack. These products may thaw without affecting product performance. When you receive the product, place it under the recommended storage conditions.Some products are shipped with blue ice packs as an extra precaution against high temperatures. The blue ice packs may be thawed upon arrival without affecting product performance.Products with recommended storage at ultra low temperature (-70°C) that also ship on dry ice should arrive frozen. If a product you received was shipped on dry ice and thawed during transit, please contact customer service at order@biotium.com.You can also download our Product Storage Statement here. View more FAQs My product was accidentally left out at room temperature or exposed to light. Is it ruined? Most of our products are stable at room temperature for many days, so in all likelihood the product will still work just fine. To be on the safe side, we recommend performing a small scale positive control experiment to confirm that the product still works for your application before processing a large number of samples or precious samples.One exception that we are aware of is GelGreen™, which is more sensitive to light exposure than most of our other fluorescent dyes. If GelGreen™ is exposed to ambient light for a prolonged period of time (days to weeks), its color will change from dark orange to brick red. If this occurs, the GelGreen will no longer work for gel staining. View more FAQs Note: Due to operating restrictions related to our COVID-19 response, primary antibody conjugates of R-PE, APC, PerCP, HRP, or AP are temporarily unavailable. All other antibody options are still available. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please see our easy-to-use Mix-n-Stain™ Antibody Labeling Kits for labeling antibodies with R-PE, APC, tandem dyes, and enzymes. Size Catalog # price Shipping, Handling & Tax (CA only) not included in price. Learn more Tax is assessed in the state of California. All fees will be calculated during checkout based on your shipping information and are subject to change.RedDot 1 is a far-red cell membrane-permeant nuclear dye similar to Draq5 . The dye is ideal for specifically staining the nuclei of live cells.Ideal for specifically staining the nuclei of live cells for short term imagingHighly thermostable and photostable, for convenient handling and demanding imaging applicationsCan be used for DNA content analysis by flow cytometry like Vybrant DyeCycle RubyCan be used for normalization of In Cell Western® in fixed cells, similar to Draq5 /Sapphire®700λEx/λEm = 662/694 nm (with DNA), for detection in the Cy®5 channelRedDot 1 can be excited at a wide range of wavelengths between 488 nm and 647 nm, including the 488 nm laser for flow cytometry, and can be used for DNA content analysis by flow cytometry. While DAPI and Hoechst dyes show a strong preference for A-T rich regions, RedDot 1 is relatively insensitive to sequence base composition.Choose the Right Dye for Your ApplicationLike Draq5®, RedDot 1 is toxic to cells within a few hours, and is recommended for short term staining experiments. For a low-toxicity far-red nuclear stain for live cells, see our NucSpot 650 dye.RedDot 1 can be used to stain live bacteria (gram-positive and gram-negative). Staining in live yeast is not nuclear. See our Cellular Stains Table for more information on how our dyes stain various organisms.RedDot 1 cannot be used for nuclear-specific staining in fixed cells. Please see RedDot 2 (cat# 40061), a spectrally similar dye designed for specific nuclear staining of fixed and permeabilized cells or selective nuclear staining of dead cells.Please note: far-red dyes like RedDot 1 are not visible to the human eye, but must be imaged with a CCD camera or by confocal microscopy.RedDot 1 and RedDot 2 Far-Red Nuclear Stains RedDot 1 Far-Red Nuclear Stain, 200X in Water40060PermeantLive cells only(Far-red) 662/694 nm• Live cell nuclear stain comparable to Draq5™• For microscopy, cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry• Can be used for In-Cell Western normalization RedDot 2 Far-Red Nuclear Stain, 200X in DMSO40061ImpermeantFixed/permeabilized cells or tissues(Far-red)665/695 nm• Fixed cell nuclear stain• Greater nuclear specificity than Draq7™• Selectively stains dead cells in unfixed culturesCy dye is a registered trademark of GE Healthcare. Draq5 is a trademark of BioStatus Ltd. In Cell Western and Sapphire are registered trademarks of LI-COR Inc. Vybrant and DyeCycle are trademarks of Thermo Fisher Scientific. DAPI is a popular blue fluorescent DNA dye. The dye binds to the minor groove of dsDNA with approximately 20-fold fluorescence enhancement. Detailed View A red fluorescent dead cell stain for bacteria and mammalian cells that is brighter than Ethidium Homodimer I. Detailed View A revolutionary antifade mounting medium optimally formulated for preserving fluorescence of our CF® dyes and other fluorochromes. Available with or without DAPI. Detailed View No-wash, fluorescent DNA nuclear stains dyes with low toxicity for long-term live cell imaging or fixed cell staining. Choose green or far-red fluorescence. Detailed View A membrane-impermeant nucleic acid intercalator. The dye is commonly used to selectively stain dead cells in a mixed live-dead population and also used as a counterstain in multicolor fluorescent assays. Detailed View A far-red cell membrane-impermeant nuclear dye with greater nuclear specificity than Draq7 . Ideal for fixed cell nuclear counterstaining with minimal cytoplasmic RNA staining. Detailed View Biotium implements a Quality System, certified by QAS according to Standard QAS ISO 9001:2015. Certificate No. US3564