[Prevention of binding of Nile red with hydrophobic proteins and surface cuvettes using detergents]

The nile red fluorescence in solutions containing Triton X-100, human serum albumin and hexadecane in different combinations was investigated. The dye fluorescence in phosphate buffer after 2-4 min incubation strongly decreased because of the dye aggregation and was stable in a detergent solution. The intensity of nile red fluorescence in the detergent solution was not changed after the addition of equal weight concentration of albumin and increased more than 2 times after the addition of the same concentration of hexadecane. The detergent eliminated the nile red sorption by cuvette surface. It is concluded that the detergent addition increases nile red selectivity as a lipid probe in the lipid-protein systems.