7-Aminoactinomycin D (7-AAD) is a DNA dye that distinguishes viable, apoptotic, and late apoptotic/dead cells in flow cytometry. 7-Aminoactinomycin D staining with 5 μg/mL, 10 μg/mL, and 20 μg/mL, but not with 1 μg/mL, is suitable for quantification of apoptosis in flow cytometry.
7-Aminoactinomycin D is frequently used to stain and exclude dead cells in flow cytometry at low concentrations (0.5-5 μg/mL). At higher concentrations (10-20 μg/mL), 7-Aminoactinomycin D has also been used to distinguish between viable cells (7-AADnegative) and apoptotic cells (7-AADdim) or dead cells (7-AADbright) using the fact that permeability of the cell membrane, and hence fluorescence intensity, is low in early apoptotic cells and high in late apoptotic and dead cells.
Medlife has not independently confirmed the accuracy of these methods. They are for reference only.