PB Picolyl Azide

PB Picolyl Azide is an advanced fluorescent probe that incorporates a copper-chelating motif to raise the effective concentration of Cu(I) at the reaction site to boost the efficiency of the CuAAC reaction, resulting in a faster and more biocompatible CuAAC labeling. Up to 40-fold increase of signal intensity, compared to conventional azides, was reported (see Selected References).

In addition, the use picolyl azides instead of conventional azides allows for at least a tenfold reduction in the concentration of the copper catalyst without sacrificing the efficiency of labeling, significantly improving biocompatibility of CuAAC labeling protocol.

In summary, the introduction of a copper-chelating motif into azide probe leads to a substantial increase in the sensitivity and reduced cell toxicity of CuAAC detection alkyne-tagged biomolecules. This will be of special value for the detection of low abundance targets or living system imaging.

PB (structurally equivalent to Pacific Blue® Dye) is a moderately photostable, blue-fluorescent probe optimally excited by the 405 nm laser line. It is routinely used for generation of stable signal in imaging and flow cytometry. The brightness and photostability of blue dyes are best suited to direct imaging of high-abundance targets.

Pacific Blue® Dye is a registered trademark of Thermo Fisher Scientific.