3,3'-Dihexyloxacarbocyanine (DiOC6(3)) is a lipophilic fluorescent dye with excitation/emission spectra of 484/501 nm, respectively.1 At high concentrations, DiOC6(3) accumulates in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and has been used to visualize ER in moss, yeast, and muscle cells. At low concentrations, DiOC6(3) accumulates in mitochondria and has been used to assess mitochondrial dislocations, fusion, and fission in living cells, as well as to visualize cellular apoptosis. DiOC6(3) can also be used to assess cell membrane potential, as depolarization directly correlates with increased fluorescence.2,3 DiOC6(3) photoexcitation inactivates intracellular organelle movement and inhibits microtubule polymerization in vitro.4
1.Sabnis, R.W., Deligeorgiev, T.G., Jachak, M.N., et al.DiOC6(3): A useful dye for staining the endoplasmic reticulumBiotech. Histochem.72(5)253-258(1997) 2.Jenssen, H.-L., Redmann, K., and Mix, E.Flow cytometric estimation of transmembrane potential of macrophages--a comparison with microelectrode measurementsCytometry7(4)339-346(1986) 3.Hoffman, J.F., and Laris, P.C.Determination of membrane potentials in human and Amphiuma red blood cells by means of fluorescent probeJ. Physiol.239(3)519-552(1974) 4.Lee, C., Wu, S.S., and Chen, L.B.Photosensitization by 3,3'-dihexyloxacarbocyanine iodide: specific disruption of microtubules and inactivation of organelle motilityCancer Res.55(10)2063-2069(1995)