Biotium has announced the release of infrared CF850 and CF870 dyes – long-wavelength dyes that are the first commercially available fluorescent dyes with emission maxima greater than 850 nm.
As a result of their excellent brightness, aqueous solubility, and exceptional infrared properties, CF850 and CF870 represent a true breakthrough in synthetic fluorescent probes.
Infrared (IR) and near-infrared (near-IR) probes offer several advantages over probes in the visible light region. Their superior sensitivity, linearity, tissue penetration, and minimal autofluorescence background are beneficial for in vivo imaging, Western blotting, and microscopy. In addition, the availability of probes that extend further into IR wavelengths enables greater multiplexing options for flow cytometry.
Recently, the benefits of long-wavelength fluorescence have spurred the development of flow cytometers and imaging instrumentation equipped with near-IR laser diodes and detection systems. Biotium’s CF850 and CF870 dyes aim to accommodate research that takes advantage of these hardware advancements by offering long-wavelength emission beyond any commercially available IR probe.
CF850 and CF870 are optimally designed for the 808-nm laser but may also be excited by the 785-nm laser. They are currently available as stable amine-reactive tetrafluorophenyl (TFP) esters but will be available soon as labels for commonly used antibodies, bioconjugates, and with Biotium’s easy-to-use Mix-n-Stain Antibody Labeling Kits.
CF850 and CF870 are part of Biotium’s family of patented pegylated CF Dyes and adds to Biotium’s growing list of novel long-wavelength dyes for life science research. Biotium’s IR and near-IR dyes also include CF700, CF750, CF770, CF790, CF800, CF820, and the recently released flow cytometry tandem dyes APC-CF750T and APC-CF790T.