PROPIDIUM Meaning and
Definition
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Propidium is a fluorescent nucleic acid staining dye that is commonly used in cell biology and biochemistry research. It belongs to the class of intercalating dyes, which means it binds to double-stranded DNA by inserting itself between the base pairs.
Propidium is primarily used for detecting and quantifying dead or apoptotic cells in a population. It is impermeable to live cells with intact cell membranes, but it can enter cells with compromised membranes, such as those in the late stages of apoptosis or necrosis. Once inside the cell, propidium binds to the DNA, resulting in strong fluorescence under certain wavelengths of light. This allows researchers to easily distinguish and enumerate dead cells through fluorescence microscopy or flow cytometry.
One of the key advantages of propidium is its high specificity for dead cells, as it is quickly expelled from healthy cells due to the intact cell membrane. This characteristic makes it a valuable tool in studying cell death, assessing cytotoxicity in drug screening assays, and monitoring cell viability in various experimental settings.
Propidium requires excitation in the blue or green range of the electromagnetic spectrum, while its fluorescence emission can be detected in the red range. It is often used in combination with other fluorescent dyes to simultaneously assess different cellular parameters, such as cell cycle progression, membrane integrity, or protein localization. Overall, propidium is a widely used and reliable fluorescent dye that aids in the identification and analysis of dead or dying cells in various biological experiments.
Common Misspellings for PROPIDIUM
- oropidium
- lropidium
- -ropidium
- 0ropidium
- peopidium
- pdopidium
- pfopidium
- ptopidium
- p5opidium
- p4opidium
- pripidium
- prkpidium
- prlpidium
- prppidium
- pr0pidium
- pr9pidium
- prooidium
- prolidium
- pro-idium
- pro0idium
Etymology of PROPIDIUM
The word "Propidium" is derived from combining the words "propidium" and "iodide".
The term "propidium" originated from the Latin word "prope", meaning near or close, and the Greek word "idion", meaning private or personal.
On the other hand, "iodide" refers to a chemical compound containing iodine. Combining these two elements, the term "propidium iodide" was created to describe a specific chemical compound frequently used in biomedical research for staining DNA.
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