The excitation and emission spectra of the Alexa Fluor series cover the visible spectrum and extend into the infrared.[3] The individual members of the family are numbered according roughly to their excitation maxima in nanometers.
Richard and Rosaria Haugland, the founders of Molecular Probes, are well known in biology and chemistry for their research into fluorescent dyes useful in biological research applications.[according to whom?] At the time that Molecular Probes was founded,[when?] such products were largely unavailable commercially.[citation needed] A number of fluorescent dyes that are now widely used were discovered and developed in the laboratories of Molecular Probes.[citation needed]—dyes such as Texas Red, Cascade Blue, Oregon Green, Marina Blue, and the Alexa Fluor family.[citation needed] The most famous of these, the Alexa Fluor family of dyes,[according to whom?] were designed to improve upon properties of previously developed biological fluorescent dye families, and solve some of the issues that they possessed.[citation needed] The Alexa Fluor dyes were named after Alex Haugland, son of Richard and Rosaria Haugland.[citation needed]
Other commercial product lines provide alternatives to individual members of the line of Alexa Fluor Dyes.[citation needed] Comparisons with other dyes are less consistent,[clarification needed] and also even more "delicate",[clarification needed] depending on the conditions and techniques used.[editorializing][citation needed] Such comparisons should be considered, depending on the conditions and techniques used, and the dye performance (signal, background, stability) needed.[editorializing][citation needed]
Specific comparison studies
Alexa Fluor 647 dye compared to dye Cy5,[clarification needed]} in an application involving conjugation to DNA.[10]
Further reading
"Molecular Imaging and Contrast Agent Database (MICAD), 2004-2013". Bethesda, MD: National Center for Biotechnology Information (US). 2013. PMID20641179. Retrieved 1 March 2020. Database entries written by independent experts, on Alexa Fluor product numbers 488, 647, 680, 700, and 750, as well as other conjugated forms.
Hullin-Matsuda, F.; Murate, M.; Kobayashi, T. (25 September 2018). "Protein Probes to Visualize Sphingomyelin and Ceramide Phosphoethanolamine". Chem. Phys. Lipids. 216: 132–141. doi:10.1016/j.chemphyslip.2018.09.002. PMID30194925. S2CID52179117. Review of a lipid visualization application of the Alexa Fluors.
Kozma, E.; Jayasekara, P.S.; Squarcialupi, L.; Paoletta, S.; Moro, S.; Federico, S.; Spalluto, G.; Jacobson, K.A. (1 January 2013). "Fluorescent Ligands for Adenosine Receptors". Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 23 (1): 26–36. doi:10.1016/j.bmcl.2012.10.112. PMC3557833. PMID23200243. Review of a set of fluors based on Alexa Fluor (AF) 488, for receptor binding studies. Article presents structures of AF488 and AF532, as well as a large set of other standard flurophores Cy5, Texas Red, EVOBlue, FITC, NBD, Dansyl, 1-Pyrene, and various Bodipy complexes.