The fluorescent control liposomes contain the green lipophilic dye DiO incorporated in the bilayers. It is used for tracking the cellular uptake of the liposomes by common methods like confocal, FACS, etc.

The green fluorescent, lipophilic carbocyanine DiOC18(3) is widely used as a lipophilic tracer. It is weakly fluorescent in water but highly fluorescent and quite photostable when incorporated into membranes. It has an extremely high extinction coefficient and short excited-state lifetimes (~1 nanosecond) in lipid environments.

Specifications

Lipid composition: DOPC/CHOL (54:45 mol/mol)

Lipid concentration: 50 mM (50-55 mM)

Mean particle size: 100 nm (90-120 nm)

Hydration buffer: 10% sucrose, 20mM HEPES, pH 7.3 ± 0.2

Dye: 0.5 mM (0.44 mg/mL)

Stability: 6 months for unopened vials

Storage: 2-8 ºC

‘DiO’;  DiOC18(3) (3,3′-Dioctadecyloxacarbocyanine Perchlorate)

DOPC: 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine

CHOL: cholesterol