LUCS 9, green fluorescent nucleic acid (2M010)

LUCS 9 is a cell-permeant nucleic acid stain that exhibits green fluorescence upon binding to nucleic acids. The stain has a high fluorescent yield and a structure identical to SYTO™9 stain. LUCS 9 is used to stain both DNA and RNA in live and dead eukaryotic cells as well as Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The dye is excited by the blue laser at 485 nm. Its fluorescence emission is detected in the fluorescein channel with a peak at 500 nm when bound to DNA and 504 nm when bound to RNA. The dye can be used in simultaneous labeling with cell-impermeant nuclear markers, such as YoDi-3, propidium iodide, or 7-AAD to evaluate cell viability using fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. LUCS 9 is especially useful as a counterstain for bacterial assays due to its ability to stain both live and dead Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.