Resources Technical Documents DRAQ7 and JC-1 (for mitochondrial membrane potential)
Technical documents description.....
JC-1 is a molecule that forms aggregates stabilized by potential across the healthy mitochondrial membrane. Aggregated it fluoresces orange. When the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) is lost the molecule reverts to a monomer state with weak green fluorescence. If propidium iodide (PI) is used as an indicator of membrane permeabilization there is the risk of its fluorescence masking a late loss of MMP since both JC-1 aggregates and PI signals are detected in the orange region of the spectrum.
Using DRAQ7 this problem is overcome since its signal does not overlap with that of JC-1 aggregates. An example using Jurkat cells induced to apoptose by staurosporine is shown below. Using a notional gating for high (healthy MMP) and low (lost MMP) JC-1 aggregate orange fluorescence the cells can be further analysed for cellular membrane integrity based on labelling with DRAQ7TM. There is a general agreement that cells with compromised cellular membranes (DRAQ7TM positive) in this example. However, were MMP a late event, this could be masked by PI.
Usefully, the spectral separation of DRAQ7TM from JC-1 also permits image based analysis. The series of images below showing different phases of membrane permeabilization (DRAQ7 positivity, blue) and mitochondrial membrane potential collapse (colour change from orange to green) in control and staurosporine treated cells. 
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