Merck, MAK150-1KT, Fluorometric Intracellular pH Assay Kit

Intracellular pH changes are implicated in diverse physiological and pathological processes, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, fertilization, malignancy, multidrug resistance, ion transport, lysosomal storage disorders, and Alzheimer′s disease. This kit can be utilized to measure decreases in intracellular pH in cells treated under various conditions using a simple standard protocol. Alternatively, an Acid-Load procedure can be used to measure the increase of intracellular pH associated with changes in cellular metabolism due to GPCR activation, growth factor activity, or other cellular stimulation. With the Acid-Load procedure ammonium chloride solution is added after the fluorescent pH dye is loaded into cells in a minimum volume. This Acid-Loading step is followed by the addition of agonist in a relatively large volume (~4x) of buffer. The sudden volume change initiates an efflux of ammonia (NH3) from the cells causing a rapid decrease in intracellular pH, and thus a decrease in fluorescence signal. The effect of agonist on the subsequent recovery of intracellular pH is measured by the relative fluorescence signal increase.