alamarBlue™ Cell Viability Reagent (Invitrogen™)

alamarBlue Cell Viability Reagent is a ready-to-use resazurin-based solution that functions as a cell health indicator by using the reducing power of living cells to quantitatively measure viability. Resazurin, the active ingredient of alamarBlue reagent, is a non-toxic, cell-permeable compound that is blue in color and virtually non-fluorescent. Upon entering living cells, resazurin is reduced to resorufin, a compound that is red in color and highly fluorescent. Changes in viability can be easily detected using either an absorbance- or fluorescence-based plate reader. alamarBlue Cell Viability Reagent has broad applicability and can be used with various human and animal cell lines, bacteria, plant, and fungi.

Features include:
• Robust and reliable performance—results in a large, highly reproducible dynamic range
• Highly sensitive reagent with a linear response—detects as few as 50 cells per well
• Convenient add-and-read format—no mixing, no washing, no cell lysis
• Compatible with either fluorescence- or absorbance-based instrumentation
• Measures viability from many diverse cell types—including mammalian cells, bacteria, plant, and fungi

Cell health can be monitored by numerous methods. Plasma membrane integrity, DNA synthesis, DNA content, enzyme activity, presence of ATP, and cellular reducing conditions are known indicators of cell viability and death. alamarBlue Cell Viability Reagent is an indigo-colored, non-toxic reagent that detects metabolically active cells and is used for the quantitative analysis of cell viability and proliferation. alamarBlue reagent has broad applicability and can be used with various human and animal cell lines, bacteria, plant, and fungi.

When added to cells, alamarBlue Cell Viability Reagent is modified by the reducing environment of viable cells and turns red in color and becomes highly fluorescent. This color change and increased fluorescence can be detected using absorbance (detected at 570 and 600 nm) or fluorescence (using an excitation between 530–560 and an emission at 590 nm). To assay for viability, simply add the pre-mixed alamarBlue reagent to cells in complete media (no wash or cell lysis steps required), incubate for one to four hours, and read using either an absorbance- or fluorescence-based plate reader. If necessary, longer incubation times may be used for greater sensitivity without compromising cell health.

The homogeneous, add-and-read assay format of the alamarBlue Cell Viability Reagent is fast, convenient, and readily amenable to automation and high-throughput assays. The color change and fluorescence increase resulting from cell viability changes allow the detection of alamarBlue reagent by either an absorbance- or fluorescence-based instrumentation.