eFluor Nanocrystals Technology
Read now - our recent publication on Nanocrystal technology
eFluor Nanocrystals are unique fluorophores that differ from conventional dyes since they contain a heavy metal core. It is the core particle that provides these fluorophores with unique spectral characteristics and high performance in a variety of applications, like flow cytometry, IHC and imaging.
eFluor Nanocrystals Composition
eFluor Nanocrystals are a type of semiconductor due to their heavy metal core particle. This core particle is composed of either cadmium selenide (CdSe) or indium gallium phosphide (InGaP). The core particle is surrounded in a proprietary coating technology that enables conjugation to various biomolecules, such as antibodies. Nanocrystals are adjustable in size from 2 - 10 nm in diameter (10 - 50 atoms), and it is the size variation that allows each nanocrystal to be tuned to a specific emission wavelength.
eFluor Nanocrystals Compostion
The core particle (left) is composed of either cadmium selenide (CdSe) or indium gallium phosphide (InGaP). The core particle is then surrounded with a proprietary coating technology (middle) which allows it to be conjugated to biomolecules such as a monoclonal antibody (right).
Spectral Characteristics of Nanocrystals
eFluor Nanocrystal fluorescence emission is established by adjusting its diameter size. The emission frequency of the nanocrystal is dependent on the bandgap, a physical property associated with the particle, which can be finely controlled to specify its "color" output. In addition to emissive advantages, nanocrystals possess advantageous absorptive properties. The nanocrystal absorption spectrum appears as a series of overlapping peaks that get larger at shorter wavelengths, resulting in maximal absorption in the UV/violet range.
eFluor Nanocrystals can be excited by multiple wavelengths providing the desired flexibility in applications such as flow cytometry and immunofluorescence microscopy. The peak emission wavelength is bell-shaped (Gaussian) and occurs at a longer wavelength than the lowest energy exiton peak (the absorption onset). This energy separation, known as the Stoke's Shift, is larger than that which occurs with organic dyes providing a broad range of excitation wavelenghts with narrow emission peaks.
Nanocrystal Excitation and Emission Spectra
The unique properties of eFluor Nanocrystals result in fluorescent reagents that are excited by a broad range of excitation wavelengths but have narrow emission peaks.
eFluor Nanocrystals Consistency and Reliability
eFluor Nanocrystals are precisely manufactured to ensure uniform size and consistent performance. Their small size ensures that when bound to cells they do not interfere with normal cellular processes. When used in flow cytometry, their small size does not alter the forward and side scatter profile of the cells to which they are bound. The unique composition of eFluor Nanocrystals also means they are non-aggregating and they do not cause cell clumping, helping to avoid false positive artifacts in your sample data.
eFluor Nanocrystals are Small and Uniform
Small and uniform size means that their impact on normal cell function will be minimal.
