1,1-Dioctadecyl-3,3,3,3-tetramethylindotricarbocyanine Iodide | CAS 100068-60-8

1,1-Dioctadecyl-3,3,3,3-tetramethylindotricarbocyanine Iodide is a lipophilic carbocyanine fluorophore designed for membrane-associated fluorescence labeling. Its long alkyl chains promote strong partitioning into lipid environments, enabling robust visualization of membrane structures and lipid-rich domains in microscopy workflows. The indotricarbocyanine core provides bright fluorescence in the visible-to-near-infrared range, making it useful for imaging experiments where strong contrast from membrane localization is needed.

1. Membrane Staining Microscopy

1,1-Dioctadecyl-3,3,3,3-tetramethylindotricarbocyanine Iodide is used as a membrane stain to visualize cell boundaries, lipid bilayers, and membrane-rich compartments in fluorescence microscopy. Researchers commonly incorporate it into staining protocols for fixed-cell imaging and for membrane localization studies in cultured cells, where the dye's amphiphilic, long-chain character drives preferential association with lipid phases rather than diffuse cytosolic labeling. In practice, it is often selected when membrane contrast and clear spatial delineation of lipid domains are important for downstream image analysis.

2. Lipid Vesicle And Liposome Labeling

1,1-Dioctadecyl-3,3,3,3-tetramethylindotricarbocyanine Iodide supports fluorescence labeling of liposomes and other lipid vesicles used in drug-delivery research and membrane biophysics. By incorporating into lipid bilayers, it enables tracking of vesicle distribution, membrane integrity, and vesicle-membrane interactions in fluorescence imaging experiments. This labeling approach is also used in materials and colloid science workflows where fluorescent readouts are needed to monitor vesicle stability, fusion-like events, or membrane-associated transport in model membrane systems.

3. Flow Cytometry Membrane Readout

1,1-Dioctadecyl-3,3,3,3-tetramethylindotricarbocyanine Iodide is applied in flow cytometry to generate a fluorescence signal that reports on membrane-associated dye uptake or membrane lipid environment differences across cell populations. In cell sorting and population profiling workflows, the dye's strong lipid partitioning helps produce a membrane-localized fluorescence distribution that can be quantified as a cytometric parameter. This makes it useful for experiments where researchers need a fluorescence-based proxy for membrane labeling intensity to compare treatments, incubation conditions, or sample preparation variables.

4. Biomaterials Surface Imaging

1,1-Dioctadecyl-3,3,3,3-tetramethylindotricarbocyanine Iodide is used to visualize lipid-coated biomaterial surfaces and membrane-mimetic coatings in fluorescence imaging and materials characterization studies. When applied to lipid-functionalized surfaces, it provides a convenient fluorescent label for assessing coating uniformity, coverage, and spatial organization. Researchers in biomaterials and surface engineering often rely on this dye to confirm that lipid layers remain associated with engineered substrates during handling, washing, or incubation in experimental media.