MemBlaze 488, green fluorescent membrane probe (LP12M10)

MemBlaze® 488 dye is a bright and photostable green-fluorescent membrane probe, a member of the MEMBRIGHT® family [1], designed for rapid and selective staining of lipid bilayers in live or fixed cells. The dye is based on an environment-sensitive fluorophore that is weakly fluorescent in aqueous media but becomes brightly emissive upon insertion into hydrophobic membrane environments. This property enables high signal-to-background ratios without requiring washing steps. MemBlaze 488 integrates non-covalently into lipid bilayers via two amphiphilic zwitterion moieties and does not require chemical modification of membrane components. Its staining is fast (typically seconds to minutes) and compatible with prolonged live-cell imaging, allowing real-time visualization of membrane dynamics, endocytosis, and vesicular trafficking. The dye is optimized for standard FITC/GFP filter sets (excitation ~488 nm, emission ~510-530 nm) and can be readily combined with other fluorescent probes for multicolor imaging using confocal, widefield, and super-resolution microscopy applications.