Antibodies Conjugated to Fluorophores

Antibodies Conjugated to Fluorochromes

Antibodies Conjugated to Fluorophores

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We offer a wide range of antibodies conjugated to all of the most commonly used fluorophores. In addition to FITC, PE, and APC, we also offer Alexa Fluor and DyLight conjugates in an array of colors, both with outstanding spectral properties.

If we don’t have the labeled version you are seeking, we offer easy-to-use LYNX Rapid Conjugation Kits®  for many popular dyes and tandem conjugates and ReadiLink Antibody Conjugation Kits for flow cytometry optimized fluorophores.

Single Dyes 

Fluorophore Fluorescence color Maximum excitation (nm) Maximum emission (nm)
Relative
brightness
Spectrally similar dyes
DyLight 405   400 420 3 Alexa Fluor 405, Cascade Blue
Alexa Fluor 405   401 421 3  
Pacific Blue   410 455 1  
DyLight 488   493 518 4 Alexa Fluor 488, FITC
Alexa Fluor 488   495 519 3 Cy2, DyLight 488, FITC
FITC   490 525 3 Alexa Fluor 488, Cy2, DyLight 488
DyLight 550   562 576 4 Alexa Fluor 546, Alexa Fluor 555, Cy3, TRITC
PE   496, 546 578 5  
hFab™ Rhodamine*   530 580 3  
Texas Red   596 615 2  
APC   650 661 4 Alexa Fluor 647, Cy5
Alexa Fluor 647   650 665 4 APC, Cy5, DyLight 650
Cy5   649 670 3  
DyLight 650   654 673 4 Alexa Fluor 647, Cy5
PerCP   490 675 2  
StarBright™ Blue 700*   470 700 5  
DyLight 680   692 712 4 Alexa Fluor 680, Cy5.5
Alexa Fluor 700 Infrared 702 723 2  
DyLight 755 Infrared 752 778 4 Alexa Fluor 750
DyLight 800* Infrared 777 794 4 IR Dye 800

* Western blot tested

Abbreviations: APC; allophycocyanin, FITC; fluorescein isothiocyanate, PE; phycoerythrin (Note. phycoerythrin (PE) is the same as R-phycoerythrin (RPE)), PerCP; peridinin-chlorophyll-protein complex.

Tandem Dyes for Flow Cytometry

When designing panels of eight or more colors, tandem dyes, such as APC-Cy7, have to be included. This is due to both laser excitation and single fluorophores limitations, which make it necessary for a single laser to excite the maximum number of fluorophores possible. 

Tandem dyes, as the name implies, consist of two different covalently attached fluorophores (a donor and an acceptor molecule). With regards to spectral properties, the tandem dye has the excitation characteristics of the donor fluorophores and the emission characteristics of the acceptor molecule. These properties are due to Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET; also known as Fluorescence resonance energy transfer); a process in which energy is passed on from an excited donor to a nearby acceptor molecule, which then emits a photon of light.

For tandem dyes the following guidelines should be followed:

  • Tandem dyes are highly susceptible to photobleaching and therefore need to be protected from light at all times.
  • Tandem dye antibody conjugates should never be frozen. Freezing might result in denaturing of the donor fluorophores and thereby no or reduced staining.
  • The brightness of tandem dyes might be reduced by a fixation or permeabilization step. If fixation or permeabilization is required, the duration should be as short as possible. 
  • Tandem dyes have a high batch-to-batch variation and therefore each batch has to be re-optimized. Tandem dyes are highly variable between different suppliers.
Fluorophore Fluorescence color Maximum excitation (nm) Maximum emission (nm)
Relative
brightness
Spectrally similar dyes
PE-Alexa Fluor 647   496, 546 667 4  
PE-Cy5   496, 546 667 5  
PE-Cy5.5   496, 546 695 4  
PE-Alexa Fluor 700 Infrared 496, 546 723 2 PE-Cy5, PerCP
PE-Alexa Fluor 750 Infrared 496, 546 779 4 PE-Cy7
APC-Alexa Fluor 750 Infrared 650 779 4 APC-Cy7, DyLight 750
PE-Cy7 Infrared 496, 546 785 4 PE-Alexa Fluor 750
APC-Cy7 Infrared 650 785 2  

Abbreviations: APC; allophycocyanin, FITC; fluorescein isothiocyanate, PE; phycoerythrin (Note. phycoerythrin (PE) is the same as R-phycoerythrin (RPE)), PerCP; peridinin-chlorophyll-protein complex.

For more information about Fluorophores in Flow Cytometry take a look at our Flow Cytometry Basics Guide.