VECTASHIELD Antifade Mounting Medium is a unique, stable formula for preserving fluorescence. VECTASHIELD Mounting Medium prevents rapid photobleaching of fluorescent proteins and fluorescent dyes.

Features:

• Inhibits photobleaching of dyes and fluorescent proteins
• Ideal refractive index
• Ready to use
• No warming necessary
• Offered with nuclear or cytoskeletal counterstains
• Available in non-hardening or hardening formulations
• Can be stored without sealing for long term analysis
• Easy to use

The original VECTASHIELD Mounting Medium does not solidify, but remains a liquid on the slide and can be stored without sealing. If desired, coverslips can be sealed around the perimeter with nail polish or a plastic sealant. Mounted slides should be stored at 4 °C, protected from light.

VECTASHIELD HardSet™ Mounting Medium preserves fluorescence and hardens after coverslipping. After approximately 15 minutes at room temperature, the coverslip will become immobilized, and optimal antifade ability and refractive index will be achieved. 

VECTASHIELD Mounting Media are compatible with a wide array of fluorochromes, enzymatic substrates, and fluorescent proteins. Please consult the compatibility table (under the "Protocol/Data Sheet/SDS" tab) to determine if VECTASHIELD will be compatible in your system.

The original VECTASHIELD Mounting Medium is available with or without the counterstain PI (propidium iodide). PI is a reddish nuclear counterstain with a broad excitation range at around 530 nm and emission at about 615 nm.

R.J. Florijn, et. al. Cytometry, 19 (1995) 177-182.

The refractive index for VECTASHIELD Mounting Medium is 1.45.

VECTASHIELD Mounting Medium Antifade Comparison

Other manufacturers measure the antifade properties of their mountants using labeled microspheres or arrayed spots. Vector Labs prefers to measure antifade properties of VECTASHIELD mountants using frozen tissue sections immunohistochemically stained with fluorescently labeled secondary antibodies.  Antifade capability is measured using a 40x objective with real time imaging over 30 seconds of continuous exposure to the excitation illumination. Individual intensity measurements are recorded from 6 separate labeled regions and the average is calculated. The intensity after 30 second exposure is expressed as a percentage of the intensity at zero time. The values for PG are taken from the manufacturer s published results.