Description
7-Aminoactinomycin D (7-AAD) is a fluorescent chemical compound with strong affinity for DNA. It can be used as a fluorescent marker for DNA in fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. It is useful for dead cell discrimination during flow cytometric analysis. It intercalates in double-stranded DNA, with high affinity for GC-rich regions, making it useful for chromosome banding studies. With an absorption maximum at 546 nm, 7-AAD is efficiently excited using a 543 nm helium-neon laser; it can also be excited with somewhat lower efficiency using 488 nm or 514 nm argon laser lines