Amine reactive fluorescent probe

Meng Q, Yu M, Zhang H et al (2007) Synthesis and application of /V-hydroxysuccinimidyl rhodamine B ester as an amine-reactive fluorescent probe. Dyes Pigm 73 254—260... 

NHS-rhodamine is an amine-reactive fluorescent probe that contains a carboxy-succinimidyl ester group off the No. 5 or 6 carbons on rhodamine s lower-ring structure (Kellogg et al., 1988). The 5- and 6-isomers are virtually identical in their reactivity and fluorescent characteristics. Similar to TRITC (described previously), NHS-rhodamine can be used to label proteins and other macromolecules that contain primary amine groups. The isomeric forms of the fluorescent probe are available in mixed and purified forms (Invitrogen, Thermo Fisher). The pure forms are... 

Conjugation of Amine-Reactive Fluorescent Probes to Diamine-Modified DNA... 

Dissolve the purified SPDP-modified dendrimer of step 5 in 50 mM sodium phosphate, 0.15M NaCl, pH 7.5, or in DMSO at a concentration of at least lOmg/ml. Add a 10-20 X molar excess of an amine-reactive fluorescent molecule (i.e., NHS-rhodamine or a hydrophilic NHS-Cy5 derivative see section on fluorescent probes). React with mixing for 1 hour at room temperature. Purify the fluorescently labeled SPDP-modified dendrimer using gel filtration or ultrafiltration. Follow the method of either step 7 or 8 to conjugate the dendrimer to another protein or molecule. 

Two general forms of amine-reactive fluorescein probes are available. Both of them react under alkaline conditions with primary amines in proteins and other molecules to form stable, highly fluorescent derivatives. 

Four forms of amine-reactive rhodamine probes are commonly available. Two of them are based on the tetramethyl derivatives of the fundamental rhodamine structure, one is based on the sulforhodamine B or Lissamine derivative, and the last is the sulforhodamine 101 or Texas Red-type of derivative. All of them react under alkaline conditions with primary amines in proteins and other molecules to form stable, highly fluorescent complexes. 

Three main forms of amine-reactive AMCA probes are commonly available. One of them is simply the free acid form of AMCA, which can be used to couple to amine-containing molecules using the carbodiimide reaction (Chapter 3, Section 1.1). The other two are active-ester derivatives of AMCA—the water-insoluble NHS ester and the water-soluble sulfo-NHS ester forms—both of which spontaneously react with amines to create stable amide linkages. All of them react under mild conditions with primary amines in proteins and other molecules to form highly fluorescent derivatives. 

Antibody molecules can be labeled with any one of more than a dozen different fluorescent probes currently available from commercial sources. Each probe option has its own characteristic spectral signals of excitation (or absorption) and emission (or fluorescence). Many derivatives of these fluorescent probes possess reactive functionalities convenient for covalently linking to antibodies and other molecules. Each of the main fluorophore families contains at least a few different choices in coupling chemistry to direct the modification reaction to selected functional groups on the molecule to be labeled. These choices include amine-reactive, sulfhydryl-reactive, and carbonyl-reactive. Examples of some of the more popular varieties of fluorescent probes can be found in Chapter 9. 

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