Invitrogen™ Biocytin Alexa Fluor™ 488 (Alexa Fluor™ 488 Biocytin, Disodium Salt)

Catalog No.	Quantity
A12924	250 μg

Catalog No. A12924 Supplier Invitrogen™ Supplier No. A12924

Description

Biocytin Alexa Fluor™ 488 (Alexa Fluor™ 488 Biocytin, Disodium Salt)

The cell-impermeant, fixable, polar tracer Alexa Fluor™ 488 biocytin combines the green-fluorescent Alexa Fluor™ 488 fluorophore with biotin and an aldehyde-fixable primary amine. Polar tracers are commonly used to investigate cell-cell and cell-liposome fusion as well as membrane permeability and transport through gap junctions or cell uptake during pinocytosis. This water-soluble tracer can be introduced into cells by whole-cell patch clamping, iontophoresis, osmotic lysis of pinocytic vesicles or comparable methods. The biotin allows for detection and subsequent amplification with enzyme-modified streptavidins including horseradish (HRP) and alkaline phosphatase (AP) that can be used with TSA and ELF technologies, respectively.

Specifications

• Quantity: 250 μg
• Content And Storage: Store at room temperature and protect from light.
• Label or Dye: Alexa Fluor Dyes
• Shipping Condition: Room Temperature
• Product Line: Alexa Fluor

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

I injected a fluorescent tracer, but cannot detect it after tissue is fixed and sectioned. What am I doing wrong?

Confirm that the tracer you are using crosslinks to proteins or has a primary amine for fixation-either a hydrazide, lysine fixable dextran, or a protein conjugate.
Use aldehyde-based fixatives to cross link the amines on the tracer.
Inject a larger amount or higher concentration of the tracer. Tracers are generally injected at 1-20% concentrations (10 mg/mL or higher).
Confirm that you are using the correct fluorescent filter for detection. You can perform a spot test by pipetting a small amount of the undiluted stock solution of the tracer onto a slide, then view under the filter you are using on your microscope. This will confirm if the tracer fluorescence can be detected and the fluorescent microscope filter is working properly.
Review tissue fixation and handling procedures to confirm if any reagents or processing procedures could be affecting the tracer.

I have labeled my neurons with an Alexa Fluor conjugated biocytin to look at transport but I wanted to examine only retrograde transport and biocytin appears to be moving retrograde and anterograde. What should I do?

Observing both types of transport is typical for biocytin. The conjugated cholera toxin subunit B products have been observed to travel only retrogradely.

Do you have a neuronal tracer similar to Lucifer Yellow but in another fluorescent color?

Lucifer Yellow CH is a hydrazide, so any of our Alexa Fluor or fluorescent hydrazides could potentially be used. A listing of them can be found here. (https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/life-science/cell-analysis/cell-tracing-tracking-and-morphology/neuronal-tracing/hydrazides-biocytins.html#prd)

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.