Light up Lysosomes with Cell Navigator™ Kits

Lysosomes are cellular organelles which contain acid hydrolase enzymes to break up waste materials and cellular debris. Lysosomes digest excess or worn-out organelles, food particles, and engulfed viruses or bacteria. The membrane around a lysosome allows the digestive enzymes to work at pH 4.5. The interior of the lysosome is acidic (pH 4.5-4.8) compared to the slightly alkaline cytosol (pH 7.2). The lysosome maintains this pH differential by pumping protons from the cytosol across the membrane via proton pumps and chloride ion channels.

AAT Bioquest Cell Navigator^® fluorescence imaging kits are a set of fluorescence imaging tools for labeling sub-cellular organelles such as membranes, lysosomes, mitochondria, nuclei, etc. The selective labeling of live cell compartments provides a powerful method for studying cellular events in a spatial and temporal context.

Our Cell Navigator^® Lysosome Staining Kits are designed to label lysosomes of live cells with LysoBrite™ dyes, our proprietary lysotropic indicators which selectively accumulate in lysosomes probably via the lysosome pH gradient. The LysoBrite™ dyes are hydrophobic compounds that easily permeate intact live cells, and trapped in lysosomes after they get into cells. Their fluorescence is significantly enhanced upon entering lysosomes. This key feature significantly reduces the staining background and makes the assay kits useful for a variety of studies, including cell adhesion, chemotaxis, multidrug resistance, cell viability, apoptosis and cytotoxicity. The Cell Navigator^® staining kits are suitable for proliferating and non-proliferating cells, and can be used for both suspension and adherent cells. The labeling protocols are robust, requiring minimal hands-on time. The kits can be readily adapted for many types of fluorescence platforms such as microplate assays, flow cytometry and fluorescence microscope.

Key Features of Cell Navigator^® Staining Kits:

• Minimal cytotoxicity, no cell toxicity observed.
• Multiplexing wavelengths, Ex/Em = 450/505 nm, 542/556 nm, 575/597 nm and 596/619 nm.
• Increased signal intensity, 10 times brighter than Lyso- Tracker^® dyes (Invitrogen).
• Extraordinarily high photostability, no fading observed with 2 minutes exposure.
• Excellent cellular retention, more than 6 passages for cell tracking in Hela cells.
• Fixable, cell staining pattern survives fixation.