• Home
• AqT® Reagents and kits
• AqT® Small Molecule Fluorescence Dye

AqT® Small Molecule Fluorescence Dye

Like biotin, most fluorescent compounds are very hydrophobic. It is very difficult to load more than 4 dye molecules per antibody/protein without any aggregation. However, even if the dye loading can be increased for some antibodies, e.g., to 6-8 fluorescein per antibody, the amplification of the signal is not proportional due to the aggregation or stacking of the aromatic core (fluorescence quenching). AqT®-dye modified with AqT® linkers contains multiple OH groups that can interact with neighboring water and create a microenvironment that prevents or shields neighboring dyes from stacking, such that antibody/protein labeled with a high amount of AqT™-dye will have a proportional increase in signal based on the number of dye molecules loaded. Our initial experiment shows that AqT®-fluorescein has a vivid and bright color compared to unmodified fluorescein. With the same dye loading, AqT®-fluorescein-labeled antibody has a few times higher signal than fluorescein-labeled antibody. AqT®-dye does not introduce an ionic group that can change the properties of antibodies, as occurs in most of the modified commercial dyes with increased water solubility. AqT®-linker hydrophilicity depends on the hydroxyl (-OH) group (charge neutral). CellMosaic is currently developing AqT® fluorescent dyes with maximum absorbance ranging from the UV to Vis wavelength: AqT® 343, AqT® 445, AqT® 496, AqT® 555, AqT® 560, AqT® 570, AqT® 646, AqT® 750. These dyes will be used to create PerKit® and conjugates. If you are interested in using such products or co-developing AqT® dye-based products, please let us know. 

Coming soon!