Acid blue is a dark bluish synthetic triphenylmethane dye. It used as a food coloring. The color of the dye is pH-dependent. The structure is also redox-sensitive, changing from a reduced yellow form to an oxidized red form in solution. It is usable as a
Aminacrine hydrochloride monohydrate, a highly fluorescent anti-infective dye, is used as a topical antiseptic and mutagen due to its interaction with DNA. It is also used as an intracellular pH indicator.
3,6-diacetoxy Phthalonitrile is a fluorescent probe for monitoring intracellular pH by flow cytometry in living cells. It rapidly crosses cell membranes and is cleaved by cytosolic esterases to form the fluorescent pH indicator 2,3-dicyano-hydroquinone (DCH), which is excited at UV wavelengths. DCH can be excited at 351 nm, with pH-dependent emission in the range of 450-476 nm (pH 5.0-10.0) using a potassium-based buffer.
Quin-2 is a high-affinity fluorescent calcium indicator (Kd = 115 nM for calcium). It displays high selectivity for calcium, as it is not affected by sodium gradients, membrane potential, or intracellular pH. High affinity probes like quin-2 are ideal for monitoring low levels of calcium, as are found in resting cells. Loadings of up to 2 mM quin-2 are without serious toxic effects, so quin-2 may be used to buffer intracellular calcium transients. Excitation/emission maxima for quin-2 are 339 and 492 nm, respectively.