{"id":2687,"date":"2026-05-04T04:50:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T04:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pm11.corsivalab.xyz\/sciencewerke\/biotium-faq-stains-for-spheroids-cultures-matrigel-cultures-2\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T04:50:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T04:50:51","slug":"biotium-faq-stains-for-spheroids-cultures-matrigel-cultures-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pm11.corsivalab.xyz\/sciencewerke\/biotium-faq-stains-for-spheroids-cultures-matrigel-cultures-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Biotium FAQ on Stains for Spheroids, 3D Cultures, and\n Matrigel\u00ae Cultures"},"content":{"rendered":"

Biotium FAQ on Stains for Spheroids, 3D Cultures, and Matrigel\u00ae Cultures<\/h3>\n
\n\"\"
\n<\/figure>\n

Are the Live-or-Dye\u2122 viability dyes suitable for live\/ dead staining in 3D
\n cultures, organoids, Matrigel\u00ae, or organotypic tissue slices?<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

\nThe\u00a0 Live-or-Dye\u2122 fixable viability stains <\/strong> ( Live-or-
\nDye\u2122 Fixable Viability Staining Kits – Biotium <\/a>) ,
\nincluding\u00a0 Live-or-Dye NucFix\u2122 Red <\/strong> ( Live-or-Dye
\nNucFix\u2122 Red Staining Kit – Biotium <\/a>),\u00a0are dead cell
\nstains that are\u00a0amine-reactive. <\/strong> This property of the
\ndyes makes staining compatible with fixation but
\n challenging in multi-cell layer systems <\/strong> such as 3D,
\nMatrigel\u00ae or organoid cultures.\n<\/p>\n

\nAs the dyes are reactive, most of the staining would be
\n restricted to the outer\/ exposed cell layer(s).<\/strong> Longer
\nincubation times to allow the dye to penetrate deeper
\ninto the cell layers would generally not be helpful <\/strong> as
\nthe labelling reaction is short-lived (15-30 min).\n<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to view recommendations for dyes
\nsuitable for\u00a03D cultures or organoids.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

Fixable nuclear dead cell stains: <\/strong> Options to consider
\nwould be\u00a0 NucSpot\u00ae Far-Red <\/strong> ( NucSpot\u00ae Far-Red,
\n1000X in DMSO – Biotium <\/a>). Designed to be an
\nimproved alternative to the more common dead cell
\nstain 7-AAD, the dye is fixable to a degree.<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

Although generally more suitable for flow cytometry as
\nits spectral properties are not appropriate for<\/p>\n

standard\u00a0fluorescence microscopy, imaging using a
\nconfocal may be better as the Ex\/Em can be more
\nappropriately matched. Imaging soon after fixation
\nand not storing the sample for extended periods <\/strong>
\npost-fixation is also recommended as staining would
\ndeteriorate over time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

\n The viability dye\u00a0PMA<\/strong> ( PMA dye | Propidium
\nMonoazide | Biotium, Inc. <\/a>)\u00a0may be another possibility.
\nPMA, a photoreactive version of propidium iodide
\n(PI), is generally used for viability PCR of bacteria.<\/strong>
\nHowever, it can be used with mammalian cells (based
\non internal customer feedback) as fixable dead cell stain
\nfor flow cytometry. PMA is not fluorescent until it binds
\nDNA. Subsequent exposure to bright light activates the
\ndye and causes it to photo-crosslink to DNA, making it
\nfixable.<\/p>\n

\n
\n Incubation of the dye with cells would need to be
\ndone in the dark<\/strong>, and the excess dye washed away
\nbefore exposing to light for photo-crosslinking.
\nOptimization for light exposure sources (LED lights can
\nbe used to avoid heat) and light intensity (bright enough
\nto crosslink the dye without photobleaching; generally,
\nproximity to a bright LED or halogen lamp is required,
\nroom light is not sufficient) may be required.\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Please email
\n enquiry@sciencewerke.com<\/a> or call us at: +65 6777 1045<\/a> for more
\n information on Biotium and their products.\n<\/p>\n


\n<\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Biotium FAQ on Stains for Spheroids, 3D Cultures, and Matrigel\u00ae Cultures Are the Live-or-Dye\u2122 viability dyes suitable for live\/ dead staining in 3D cultures, organoids, Matrigel\u00ae, or organotypic tissue slices? The\u00a0 Live-or-Dye\u2122 fixable viability stains ( Live-or- Dye\u2122 Fixable Viability Staining Kits – Biotium ) , including\u00a0 Live-or-Dye NucFix\u2122 Red ( Live-or-Dye NucFix\u2122 Red Staining […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[164],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-164"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pm11.corsivalab.xyz\/sciencewerke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pm11.corsivalab.xyz\/sciencewerke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pm11.corsivalab.xyz\/sciencewerke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pm11.corsivalab.xyz\/sciencewerke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pm11.corsivalab.xyz\/sciencewerke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2687"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pm11.corsivalab.xyz\/sciencewerke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2752,"href":"https:\/\/pm11.corsivalab.xyz\/sciencewerke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2687\/revisions\/2752"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pm11.corsivalab.xyz\/sciencewerke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pm11.corsivalab.xyz\/sciencewerke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pm11.corsivalab.xyz\/sciencewerke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pm11.corsivalab.xyz\/sciencewerke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}