Alexa Fluor™ 594 Hydrazide - FAQs

View additional product information for Alexa Fluor™ 594 Hydrazide - FAQs (A10438)

6 product FAQs found

What dye can I use that is non-reactive and can show an injection site?

The non-reactive Alexa Fluor and Alexa Fluor hydrazide derivatives may be used for injection site visualization. Other options include the fluorescent polystyrene microspheres, FluoSpheres, and dye-conjugated dextrans. The hydrazide derivatives and 'fixable' dextrans are retained by cross-linking using an aldehyde-based fixative.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Cell Analysis Support Center.

I injected a fluorescent tracer, but cannot detect it after tissue is fixed and sectioned. What am I doing wrong?

Confirm that the tracer you are using crosslinks to proteins or has a primary amine for fixation-either a hydrazide, lysine fixable dextran, or a protein conjugate.
Use aldehyde-based fixatives to cross link the amines on the tracer.
Inject a larger amount or higher concentration of the tracer. Tracers are generally injected at 1-20% concentrations (10 mg/mL or higher).
Confirm that you are using the correct fluorescent filter for detection. You can perform a spot test by pipetting a small amount of the undiluted stock solution of the tracer onto a slide, then view under the filter you are using on your microscope. This will confirm if the tracer fluorescence can be detected and the fluorescent microscope filter is working properly.
Review tissue fixation and handling procedures to confirm if any reagents or processing procedures could be affecting the tracer.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Cell Analysis Support Center.

I have labeled my neurons with an Alexa Fluor conjugated biocytin to look at transport but I wanted to examine only retrograde transport and biocytin appears to be moving retrograde and anterograde. What should I do?

Observing both types of transport is typical for biocytin. The conjugated cholera toxin subunit B products have been observed to travel only retrogradely.

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Do you have a neuronal tracer similar to Lucifer Yellow but in another fluorescent color?

Lucifer Yellow CH is a hydrazide, so any of our Alexa Fluor or fluorescent hydrazides could potentially be used. A listing of them can be found here. (https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/life-science/cell-analysis/cell-tracing-tracking-and-morphology/neuronal-tracing/hydrazides-biocytins.html#prd)

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How do I know which tracer to choose for my experiment?

Factors to consider are size of tracer, method of delivery (injection, direct application to tissue, etc.), and if the tracer needs to be fixable. Here are some links to details about the various classes of neuronal tracers we offer and how to choose between them:

Neuronal Tracing (https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/life-science/cell-analysis/cell-tracing-tracking-and-morphology/neuronal-tracing.html)
Choosing a Tracer (https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/references/molecular-probes-the-handbook/fluorescent-tracers-of-cell-morphology-and-fluid-flow/choosing-a-tracer.html)
Imaging Analysis (http://assets.thermofisher.com/TFS-Assets/BID/Reference-Materials/bioprobes-50-journal.pdf)

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What products do you have for neuronal tracing?

Please check out this web page (https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/life-science/cell-analysis/cell-tracing-tracking-and-morphology/neuronal-tracing.html) for details.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Cell Analysis Support Center.