On September 23, 2019, Alfa Chemistry, a leading chemical supplier located in New York, announced that they will provide chemical fluorescent probes to expand their production lines and meet the growing needs of their customers in the field of biological and chemical researches.

Fluorescence is a photoluminescent phenomenon that is usually caused by absorption of incident radiation or energy from particles such as X-rays or electrons. Fluorescence is usually visible light. Fluorescence occurs when an atom or molecule relaxes to its ground state by vibrational relaxation after being excited by electricity.

A fluorescent probe is a fluorescent complex or aggregate formed by covalent bonding or other combination of biological macromolecules such as amino acids, polypeptides, proteins, and DNA. Fluorescent probe is a class of biomolecular sensor with high sensitivity and fast response time.

Molecular structure of fluorescent probe
Fluorescent probe molecule usually consists of a receptor, a fluorophore and a spacer. Among them, the receptor determines the selectivity and specificity of the probe molecule, the fluorophore determines the sensitivity of the recognition, and the spacer acts as a molecular recognition hub.

Classification of fluorescent probes
Depending on different preparation methods, fluorescent probes can be divided into chemical fluorescent probes and gene fluorescent probes. Chemical fluorescent probes refer to chemically synthesized fluorescent probes, including organic small molecule fluorescent probes and nano fluorescent probes. Gene fluorescent probes are composed of proteins and are heritable, mainly including fluorescent proteins (GFP, YFP, DsRed, etc.) and phycoerythrin.

The applicable fluorescent probes usually require the following conditions:
1. Easy to synthesize and purify, high yield, safe and non-toxic;
2. Good stability and solubility, especially the lipid solubility of the membrane;
3. The ability to specifically bind to the substance by physical or chemical action, the labeling conditions are mild, and the residue and by-products can be easily removed;
4. Higher fluorescence quantum yield, large molar extinction coefficient, strong anti-bleaching ability, and the wavelength of fluorescence can effectively avoid background interference of autofluorescence of cells.

Application of fluorescent probes
Fluorescent probes can label biological macromolecules containing specific groups such as proteins, antigen antibodies, nucleic acids, enzymes, and polymers. The fluorescent probe can also detect the active site of protein and the chemical reactivity of the drug molecule. In recent years, fluorescent labeling has been widely applied in the field of biotechnology. For example, fluorescent probes can be used in DNA sequencing, protein detection, antibody immunoassay, disease diagnosis, and anticancer drug analysis.

“Due to the wide application of fluorescent probes in scientific research, our company has launched a series of chemical fluorescent probes to assist customers in the scientific research field. Currently, the chemical fluorescent probes on our website include fluorescein dyes, BODIPY dyes, cyanine dyes, rhodamine dyes and so on.” Said Dr. Brenda Randy, the marketing manager of Alfa Chemistry.

About Alfa Chemistry
Alfa Chemistry offers an extensive catalog of organic building blocks, reagents, catalysts, reference materials, and research chemicals in a wide range of applications. It also provides analytical services and laboratory services to the customers. Products listed on the website are either in stock or can be resynthesized within a reasonable time frame. In stock products can be shipped out within 3-5 business days upon receipt of customers' purchase order.