Integrated fluorescence, molecular dyes

The cytoskeleton is a cellular scaffold within the cytoplasm of the cell or within structures such as flagella, cilia, and lamellipodia. The cytoskeleton plays a crucial role in cellular integrity/structural support, cell division, cell motility, and intracellular transport. Staining of the cytoskeleton may be achieved by immunofluorescence in fixed cells however there are also dyes available, such as fluorescently labelled phalloidin, which directly labels actin filaments, as well as tubulin tracker which labels microtubules (Molecular Probes). Phalloidin is poorly permeable to living cells however, phalloidin derivatives with improved permeability properties are also available. Although both phalloidin derivatives and microtubule tracker can be used in live cells, it should be noted that both dyes are toxic as they inhibit cell division, and therefore limits their applications. 

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