Analysis of cell replication phases can be achieved by labeling cells in suspension with a DNA-specific fluorescent dye and analyzing the DNA content of individual cell with flow cytometry. Otherwise known as cell cycle analysis, this assay has been an important and consistent flow cytometry methodology since its advent in 1969 [1, 2], and applications of cell cycle analysis in the study of drug cytotoxicity and genetic modifications have advanced biomedical research.

The most common protocol for cell cycle analysis is lengthy and requires ethanol for cell fixation, RNase A to remove double-stranded RNA, and propidium iodide (PI) to label DNA. Here, we compare this routine, tedious procedure to a technique that allows quick fluorescence labeling of cellular DNA content with violet laser-excited nim-DAPI, thereby removing the need for lengthy fixation and RNAse A incubation.

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