Compatibility of SYTO 13 and Hoechst 33342 for longitudinal imaging of neuron viability and cell death

SYTO 13 is acutely neurotoxic and when used in longitudinal studies, masked end-stage morphologic evidence of apoptotic cell death. In contrast, a single application of Hoechst evoked no evidence of toxicity over a 6 h period, and was consistent with end-point characterizations of cell viability and nuclear morphology. For longitudinal characterization of acute cell death, Hoechst is a superior option.