Fluorescent Protein Excitation Light Sources

XEPU fluorescent protein excitation light sources are mainly used to observe fluorescence in plants, leaves, seeds, roots, and various model animals. With a wide choice of excitation wavelength sets, XEPU fluorescent protein light sources are applicable for various fluorescent proteins, such as green fluorescent protein (GFP, EGFP), red fluorescent protein (RFP, DsRed, tdTomato, mCherry), yello fluorescent protein (YFP), blue fluorescent protein (BFP), and many other fluorophores.

XEPU Scientific manufactures different kinds of fluorescent protein lamps, such as portable fluorescence flashlights, handheld lamps, and fluorescence cabinets. Portable fluorescence flashlights are designed for use in both lab and field while fluorescence cabinets are designed to replace traditional dark rooms for quicker screening of positive samples. XEPU fluorescence flashlights can also fit your existing stereo microscopes as an external light source for fluorescence excitation.

Figure below: expression of red fluorescent protein (RFP) and green fluorescent protein (GFP) in callus tissue, root, and Drosophila larvae under XEPU Fluorescence Flashlight GFPfinder-2101

Excitation and Emission of Fluorescent Proteins

Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP, EGFP)

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) is one of the most commonly used fluorescent proteins in genetic studies. Green fluorescent protein (GFP) is a barrel-shaped protein made up of 238 amino acids. Threaded through the long axis of the β-sheet barrel is an α-helix that contains a chromophore that is responsible for the emission of green light when GFP is exposed to either royal blue (450 or 488 nm) or ultaviolet light (365 nm). This special property, together with the fact that GFP is well tolerated by many different organisms, makes GFP a usefule fluorescent tag for monitoring biological processes at the cellular level.

GFP: Wild type GFP has two excitation peaks, a major one at 395 nm (in the UV-A range) and a smaller one at 475 nm (blue) and its emission peak at 509 nm (green).

Figure below: excitation and emission of green fluorescent protein (GFP, wtGFP, GFP, gfp10)

EGFP: Enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) carries a mutation in its chromophore which shifts the excitation peak to 488 nm and enhances its fluorescence intensity. Enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) has an excitation peak at 488 nm and emission peak at 507 nm.

Figure below: excitation and emission of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP, GFPmut1)

Red Fluorescent Protein (RFP)

Red fluorescent protein (RFP) is also used for gene expression and protein localization. Commonly used red fluorescent proteins include tdTomato, mCherry, and DsRed.

tdTomato: tdTomato has an excitation peak at 554 nm and emission peak at 581 nm.

Figure below: excitation and emission of tdTomato

mCherry: mCherry is a basic red fluorescent protein published in 2004, derived from Discosoma sp.. mCherry has an excitation peak at 587 nm and emission peak at 610 nm.

Figure below: excitation and emission of mCherry

DsRed: The excitation peak of DsRed is 558 nm and its emission peak is 583 nm.

Figure below: excitation and emission of DsRed (drFP583, discRFP, RFP, DsRed1)

Yellow Fluorescent Protein (YFP)

EYFP: EYFP is a basic yellow fluorescent protein published in 1996, derived from Aequorea victoria. EYFP is a very rapidly-maturing weak dimer with high acid sensitivity. Its excitation peak is at 513 nm while the emission peak is at 527 nm.

Figure below: excitation and emission of EYFP

Blue Fluorescent Protein (BFP)

EBFP: EBFP is a blue fluorescent protein derived from Aequorea victoria, with an excitation peak at 380 nm and emission peak at 440 nm.

Figure below: excitation and emission of BFP

Cyan Fluorescent Protein (CFP)

CFP: Cyan Fluorescent Protein (CFP) is a versatile biological marker for monitoring physiological processes, visualizing protein localization, and detecting transgenic expression in vivo. CFP can be excited by the 405 nm excitation light and is optimally detected at 485 nm.

Figure below: excitation and emission of CFP

If you are interested in the excitation and emission of other fluorescent proteins or fluorophores, please contact us at xepuinfo@gmail.com for more information.

Source: FPbase