Invitrogen™ Filmtracer™ LIVE/DEAD™ Biofilm Viability Kit

The FilmTracer LIVE/DEAD Biofilm Viability kit provides a two-color fluorescence assay of bacterial viability, based on membrane integrity, that has proven useful for a diverse array of bacterial genera including those growing in biofilm communities. The LIVE/DEAD Biofilm Viability kit utilizes mixtures of SYTO™ 9 green fluorescent nucleic acid stain and the red-fluorescent nucleic acid stain, propidium iodide. These stains differ both in their spectral characteristics and in their ability to penetrate healthy bacterial cells. When used alone, the SYTO 9 stain generally labels all bacteria in a population: those with intact membranes and those with damaged membranes. In contrast, propidium iodide penetrates only bacteria with damaged membranes, causing a reduction in the SYTO 9 stain fluorescence with both dyes are present. Thus, with an appropriate mixture of the SYTO 9 and propdium iodide stains, bacteria with intact cell membranes stain fluorescent green, whereas bacteria with damaged membranes stain fluorescent red.

Analysis of Bacteria, Bacterial Viability and Cytotoxicity Analysis, Cell Analysis, Microbiological Analysis