Antibodies Against Fluorescent Proteins
Fluorescent proteins such as GFP, RFP, and their derivatives are indispensable tools for visualizing and tracking biological processes across diverse experimental systems. To fully exploit their potential, reliable and application-validated detection and capture reagents are essential. Our portfolio of antibodies against fluorescent proteins is designed to support both analytical and preparative workflows, ranging from flow cytometry (FACS), flow cytometry–based sorting, and immunohistochemistry (IHC), to robust affinity-based capture strategies. You can use the following graphic to quickly navigate to antibodies against your desired fluorophore.
In addition to conventional detection antibodies, we offer a dedicated catcher product line: high-affinity antibodies optimized for pull-down applications, including immunoprecipitation (IP), co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP), and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). Our catcher product line is based on recombinant single-domain antibodies (sdAbs) derived from llamas or alpacas. These reagents enable efficient and specific isolation of fluorescent protein–tagged targets, facilitating downstream biochemical and molecular analyses with minimal background.
All products are developed with a strong emphasis on specificity, reproducibility, and batch-to-batch consistency, supported by rigorous quality control and application-relevant validation. Learn more about the history of fluorescent proteins down below, how different variants emerged and about their characteristics; advantages and disadvantages for specific usecases.
Value of Fluorescent Proteins
Fluorescently conjugated antibodies are indispensable tools in modern life science research and biotechnology, enabling the sensitive, specific, and quantitative detection of biomolecules across a wide range of experimental platforms. By directly coupling antigen recognition with optical readout, fluorescent antibodies allow real-time visualization, multiparametric analysis, and high-throughput interrogation of complex biological systems, from single cells to heterogeneous populations and subcellular structures.
The value of fluorescent antibodies lies in their versatility across applications with fundamentally different experimental demands. FACS antibody conjugates enable simultaneous detection of multiple surface or intracellular markers at the single-cell level, supporting phenotypic profiling, population stratification, and physical isolation of defined cell subsets. Here, critical parameters include fluorophore brightness, photostability, and spectral separation, as these directly impact sensitivity, compensation, and panel complexity. In contrast, fluorescence-based pull-down or co-IP assays prioritize antibody affinity, epitope accessibility, and conjugation stability, as fluorescent signal is used to track protein–protein interactions or enrichment efficiency rather than to resolve complex spectral mixtures.
History of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP)
The green fluorescent protein (GFP) is a protein from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria which fluoresces green upon excitation with blue or ultraviolet light. The discovery of green fluorescent protein in the early 1960s by Shimomura has laid the foundation for modern live cell imaging. GFP can be fused to other proteins of interest in a host cell as a noninvasive fluorescent marker in living cells and organisms. Since then, GFP has been engineered and further developed to produce a plethora of mutants coverving a wide range of colors, including enhanced green, cyan and yellow fluorescent proteins, which exhibit peak emission wavelengths ranging from 425 to 525 nm.
Comparison of GFP Variants
| Protein | Excitation [nm] | Emission [nm] | Extinct. Coeff. [M-1cm-1] | Quantum yield [Φ] | Brightness [nM-1cm-1] | t [0,5] Maturation (37 °C) | Structure | Antibody | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GFP (wt) | 395 | 475 | 509 | 21,000 | 0.77 | 19.8 | 36 min | Dimer | ABIN100085 |
| BFP | 380 | 445 | 28,000 | 0.30 | 8.4 | Weak Dimer | |||
| 433 | 475 | 32,000 | 0.40 | 12.8 | Monomer | ABIN7273090 | |||
| YFP | 514 | 527 | 83,000 | 0.60 | 49.8 | 10 min | Weak Dimer | ABIN6254248 | |
| EGFP | 484 | 507 | 56,000 | 0.6 | 33,6 | 15 min | Weak Dimer | ABIN1169226 | |
| EBFP | 383 | 445 | 29,000 | 0.31 | 6.9 | Weak Dimer | |||
| 439 | 476 | 32,500 | 0.4 | 13 | Monomer | ABIN3181526 | |||
| EYFP | 514 | 527 | 83,400 | 0.61 | 44.9 | 9 min | Weak Dimer | ABIN3181270 | |
References
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