Tags: Chemical Compound, Chemical Substance.
Nile red (also known as Nile blue oxazone) is a lipophilic stain. It is produced by boiling a solution of Nile blue with sulfuric acid. As can be seen from the structural formulae this process replaces an iminium group with a carbonyl group. Nile red stains intracellular lipid droplets red. In most polar solvents Nile Red will not fluoresce however when in a lipid-rich environment can be intensely fluorescent with varying colours from deep red to strong yellow-gold emission.
