ArC™ Amine Reactive Compensation Bead Kit (for use with LIVE/DEAD™ Fixable dead cell stain kits) (Invitrogen™)

ArC™ Amine Reactive Compensation Bead Kit is a bead-based compensation tool specifically optimized for use with LIVE/DEAD™ Fixable dead cell stain kits.

• Ready-to-use control
• Eliminates the hassle of heat-treating cells as a control, saving precious sample
• Enables accurate and consistent results

View a selection guide for all fixable viability dyes for flow cytometry.

Ready-to-use control
Unlike other methods that require sample preparation to make compensation controls using cellular material, the ArC Amine Reactive Compensation Bead Kit is ready to use out of the dropper bottle. The kit includes two types of specially modified polystyrene microspheres that have been optimized to react with the amine-reactive dye in the LIVE/DEAD Fixable dead cell stain kits. The ArC reactive beads (Component A) bind any of the amine-reactive dyes and provide a positive signal; the ArC negative beads (Component B) have no reactivity and provide a negative compensation control. This ready-to-use product preserves the original sample material for experiments; precious sample is not used for the creation of compensation controls.

Accurate and consistent results
Unlike biological controls, which can have variable expression levels depending upon disease or development state, the Arc beads provide a bright, consistent signal (see figure below). Consistency in the staining pattern of compensation controls is important for obtaining the right compensation value. If the signal varies with the control material used, the compensation value can be affected, leading to erroneous results.

How it works
One drop of beads is added to a test tube containing LIVE/DEAD Fixable dead cell stain. After incubation with amine-reactive dye, the beads are washed in staining buffer, a drop of negative control beads is added (if required), and the beads are resuspended and analyzed by flow cytometry. The two components provide a distinct positive bead that is at least 50-fold brighter than the negative beads, which can be used to set compensation.

Other compensation products
Besides the ArC Amine Reactive Compensation Beads, AbC™ Anti-Mouse Bead Kit is also available for capture of mouse anti-human antibodies, as well as the AbC™ Anti-Rat/Hamster Bead Kit for capture of rat anti-mouse or hamster anti-mouse antibodies.