7-AAD Viability Dye

7-AAD Viability Dye is a ready-to-use reagent allowing discrimination of viable from non viable cells using flow cytometry. It is composed of 7-Amino-Actinomycin D (7-AAD) which intercalates between cytosine and guanine bases of the DNA. The maximum absorption of the 7-AAD / DNA complex is situated in the green spectral region, compatible with argon laser equipped-cytometer (excitation wavelength of 488 nm). The deep red fluorescence emission of 7-AAD (635 to 675 nm) makes the use of this probe easier in combination with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and phycoerythrin (PE) conjugated antibodies because, in contrast to propidium iodide (PI), the 7-AAD / DNA complex shows lower spectral overlap with FITC and PE.