sulfo-Cyanine5.5 DBCO

Sulfo-Cyanine5.5 DBCO is a water-soluble DBCO-functionalized cyanine dye designed for copper-free click chemistry labeling of biomolecules and surfaces. The sulfonated cyanine core supports fluorescence-based tracking in aqueous workflows, while the DBCO handle enables efficient conjugation to azide-bearing targets used in chemical biology, imaging, and assay development.

1. Biomolecule Fluorescent Labeling

Sulfo-Cyanine5.5 DBCO is used by chemical biology and glycobiology groups to fluorescently tag azide-functionalized proteins, peptides, antibodies, and other biomolecules via strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition. Researchers commonly incorporate this dye into labeling workflows for binding studies, ligand tracking, and reagent construction where a bright far-red cyanine readout is advantageous for minimizing spectral overlap with shorter-wavelength fluorophores. The sulfonated dye format supports aqueous conjugation and downstream imaging/quantification in typical buffer-based assay conditions.

2. Fluorescence Microscopy Tracing

Sulfo-Cyanine5.5 DBCO is employed in fluorescence microscopy to visualize azide-bearing biomolecules and labeled assemblies in cell culture and biomaterials contexts. Teams developing fluorescent conjugates for cellular uptake studies, extracellular matrix labeling, and multicomponent staining use the cyanine dye to track where the conjugated cargo localizes after click attachment. In microscopy workflows, the far-red emission profile helps reduce background from autofluorescence, supporting clearer visualization in multi-channel imaging experiments.

3. Flow Cytometry Conjugate Construction

Sulfo-Cyanine5.5 DBCO is used in flow cytometry reagent development to generate fluorescently labeled azide-containing targets for cell-surface and internal labeling experiments. Assay developers and core facilities use the dye as a conjugation building block to create far-red fluorescent probes for quantifying binding events, monitoring labeling intensity across samples, and enabling multiplex panels when paired with spectrally distinct fluorophores. The water-soluble, sulfonated dye format supports practical conjugation in aqueous staining buffers commonly used for cytometric workflows.

4. Surface and Biomaterial Functionalization

Sulfo-Cyanine5.5 DBCO is also applied to fluorescently functionalize azide-terminated surfaces, hydrogels, and biomaterial coatings for imaging-guided materials characterization. Materials scientists use the dye to confirm surface modification, map spatial distribution of functional groups, and generate fluorescent readouts for engineered constructs assembled from azide-bearing components. This approach is frequently used in polymer and hydrogel research where click-compatible labeling provides a convenient route to stable fluorescent tagging without introducing copper catalysts into sensitive systems.