
Alexa Fluor
The Alexa Fluor family of fluorescent dyes is a series of dyes invented by Molecular Probes, now a part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, and sold under the Invitrogen brand name. Alexa Fluor dyes are frequently used as cell and tissue labels in fluorescence microscopy and cell biology.[1] Alexa Fluor dyes can be conjugated directly to primary antibodies or to secondary antibodies to amplify signal and sensitivity[2] or other biomolecules.[citation needed]
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.
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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]
Molecular Probes was acquired in 2003 by Invitrogen,[4] who worked to further expand the Alexa Fluor family by the addition of new dyes to fill gaps not covered in the emission spectrum.[citation needed] In 2008, Invitrogen and the Alexa Fluor product line became a part of the Life Technologies, after the Invitrogen merger with Applied Biosystems.[citation needed] In 2014, Life Technologies was acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific, who revitalized the Invitrogen name and brand, bringing the Alexa Fluor product line back under it.[citation needed]
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