CF® Dye Amine

The exact chemical structures of CF® dyes are currently confidential but will be fully disclosed at a later stage when pending patents become granted. In general terms, the structure of a CF® dye may be divided into two parts: a) dye core structure (i.e. the aromatic ring skeleton that defines the dye’s color or absorption/emission wavelengths), and b) core structure-modifying elements. At present, CF® dyes bear the core structures of coumarin, pyrene, rhodamine or cyanine dyes. Blue fluorescent CF® dyes are based on coumarin or pyrene dye core structure, while green to near-IR CF® dyes are based on either cyanine or rhodamine dye core structures. Core structure-modifying elements refer to various chemical attachments to the core structure and are a key aspect of the CF® dye invention that makes CF® dyes superior to other commercial dyes.

Category: CF® Dyes

Rhodamine-based CF® dyes (designated R) generally have better photostability but weaker fluorescence than their cyanine-based equivalents (designated C). Therefore, rhodamine-based near-IR CF® dyes are a better choice for microscopy, while cyanine-based CF® dyes are more ideal for flow cytometry, Western blotting, and other applications where photobleaching is less of a concern. Another factor to consider is the size of the dyes. Some of the cyanine-based near-IR CF® dyes are much larger than the rhodamine-based equivalents. For antibody labeling, either version of the CF® dyes is suitable. However, for applications where the dye size may cause a steric problem, the smaller dye may be a better choice.

Category: CF® Dyes

All three of these dyes can be excited by the 405 nm laser (or UV mercury lamp). They differ in their emission wavelengths. CF®405S has blue fluorescence emission at 431 nm, similar to AlexaFluor® 405, Cascade Blue®, and DyLight™ 405 (Thermo Scientific). CF®405M has longer wavelength blue fluorescence emission at 452 nm, similar to Horizon™ V450 (BD Biosciences) and Pacific Blue® (Thermo Scientific). CF®405L has orange fluorescence emission at 545 nm, similar to Pacific Orange® (Thermo Scientific). We recommend choosing the dye that best fits your instrument’s detection settings. See our CF® Dye Quick Reference Table and CF® Dye Selection Guide for more information on CF® dyes.

Category: CF® Dyes

Coelenterazines are predominantly yellow solids, but may contain dark red or brown flecks. This does not affect product stability or performance. If your coelenterazine is uniformly brown, then it is oxidized and needs to be replaced.

Category: Luciferase Assays, Product shipping, storage, shelf life, & solubility

Most of our products are stable at room temperature for many days, but we recommend storage at 4°C or -20°C to prolong shelf life. In the case of many of our aqueous dye solutions, the compounds are very stable at room temperature, but we recommend cold storage to prevent the growth of mold or other microbes over time. Therefore, to save on shipping costs, products with recommended storage at 4°C or -20°C may ship at ambient temperature or with an ice pack. These products may thaw without affecting product performance. When you receive the product, place it under the recommended storage conditions.

Category: CF® Dyes, DNA Quantitation Kits, Luciferase Assays, Mix-n-Stain™ Antibody Labeling Kits, NucView® Caspase-3 Enzyme Substrates, Product shipping, storage, shelf life, & solubility

Most of our products are stable at room temperature for many days, so in all likelihood the product will still work just fine. To be on the safe side, we recommend performing a small scale positive control experiment to confirm that the product still works for your application before processing a large number of samples or precious samples.

One exception that we are aware of is GelGreen™, which is more sensitive to light exposure than most of our other fluorescent dyes. If GelGreen™ is exposed to ambient light for a prolonged period of time (days to weeks), its color will change from dark orange to brick red. If this occurs, the GelGreen will no longer work for gel staining.

Category: Apoptosis, Necrosis, and Cell Viability Kits, CF® Dyes, DNA Quantitation Kits, GelRed® and GelGreen® Nucleic Acid Gel Stains, Luciferase Assays, Mix-n-Stain™ Antibody Labeling Kits, NucView® Caspase-3 Enzyme Substrates, Product shipping, storage, shelf life, & solubility