ActinRed™ 555 ReadyProbes™ Reagent is a selective, high-affinity F-actin probe conjugated to the red-orange fluorescent dye tetramethylrhodamine (TRITC). Like other ReadyProbes™ reagents, ActinRed™ 555 reagent is formulated as a room temperature-stable solution and comes in a convenient dropper bottle. Just tip and drip two drops per ml to stain your cells.

ActinRed™ 555 ReadyProbes™ Reagent provides:
• High-affinity staining of F-actin with superior specificity compared to antibody methods
• Outstanding fluorescence performance (Ex/Em: 540/565 nm)
• Ready-to-use liquid formulation in convenient dropper bottle—no need to dilute, weigh, or pipette
• Stability at room temperature—keep handy at your scope or cell culture area

Obtain Superior Results in Your Actin Staining Studies
Phalloidin is a bi-cyclic peptide, commonly used in imaging applications to selectively label F-actin. Fluorescently-labeled phalloidin has several advantages over antibodies for actin labeling, including virtually identical binding properties with actin from different species of plants and animals, and low non-specific binding. Phalloidin binds F-actin with high selectivity, while TRITC provides red-orange fluorescence of unparalleled brightness and photostability. Demonstrating very little nonspecific staining, ActinRed™ 555 reagent allows high-contrast discrimination of actin staining.

Use in Multiple Applications
ActinRed™ 555 ReadyProbes™ Reagent can be used to visualize and quantitate F-actin in tissue sections, cell cultures, or cell-free preparations. It is fully compatible with other fluorescent stains used in fixed-cell analyses, including antibodies, fixed-cell dyes, fluorescent proteins, and Qdot® probes.

Biological Applications of Actin Staining
The role of the cytoskeleton in cell division and cell motility makes it central to normal, as well as malignant processes (unchecked proliferation and invasiveness); cytoskeletal components are the targets of several cancer and anti-inflammatory drugs. Whether you are studying the cytoskeleton in the context of stem cell differentiation, cancer biology, as a marker in RNAi library screens, or a target in drug discovery, ActinRed™ 555 ReadyProbes™ Reagent is a validated and robust reagent.

Packaged for Convenience
ActinRed™ 555 ReadyProbes™ Reagent is supplied ready-to-use and can be stored right next to your microscope or workstation. A liquid formulation in an ultra convenient dropper bottle (Figure 2) allows you to stain your cells whenever and wherever they are ready. Just add two drops per ml for optimally bright and distinct nuclear counter-staining.

Suggestions for Use
• ActinRed™ 555 reagent may be added directly to fixed cells in full media or buffer solutions
• In most cases 2 drops/ml and an incubation time of 15 to 30 minutes is sufficient for bright actin staining; however, optimization may be needed for some cell types, conditions, and applications. In such cases, simply add more or fewer drops until the optimal staining intensity is obtained.
• ActinRed™ 555 dye is excited with a maximum at 540 nm and has an emission maximum at 565 nm. It is detected through standard TRITC (Rhodamine/DiI/Cy3™/Alexa Fluor® 546) filters.

See other Molecular Probes® imaging tools and reagents.