Dextran conjugates are hydrophilic polysaccharides with low toxicity that can used for tissue sections, in vivo neurons, and cultured cells. A wide range of fluorescent and biotinylated dextran conjugates are offered in several molecular weights. Most of these dextran conjugates are lysine-fixable and can be treated with formaldehyde or glutaraldehyde.
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Properties of dextran conjugates
| Dextran, Alexa Fluor | Dextran, Fluorophore, Biotin | |
|---|---|---|
| Readout | Direct fluorescence imaging of cells | Direct fluorescence imaging of cells; biotins easily accept secondary detection to amplify weak signals |
| Tissue sections | Yes | |
| In vivo neurons | Yes | |
| Fixed tissue sections | No | |
| Cultured cells | Yes | |
| Cell loading | Microinjection | |
| Staining mode | Endogenous | |
| Best for | Single cells | |
| Transport | Bidirectional | |
| Synaptic transfer | No | |
Selection guide for dextran conjugates
| Standard filter set(s) | Fluorophore/ conjugates | Ex/Em (nm) | Quantity | Fixable | Cat. No. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dextran, Cascade Blue | DAPI | Cascade Blue | 400/420 | 10 mg | Yes | D7132 |
| Dextran, Fluorescein, Lysine Fixable | FITC | Fluorescein | 494/518 | 10 mg | Yes | D3306 |
| Dextran, Fluorescein, Anionic | No | D3305 | ||||
| Dextran, Fluorescein and Biotin | 5 mg | Yes | D7156 | |||
| Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine, Lysine Fixable | TAMRA | TAMRA | 494/518 | 10 mg | Yes | D3308 |
| Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine, Anionic | No | D3307 | ||||
| Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine and Biotin | 555/580 | 5 mg | Yes | D7162 | ||
| Dextran, Texas Red, Lysine Fixable | Texas Red | Texas Red | 595/615 | 10 mg | Yes | D3328 |
| Dextran, Texas Red, Neutral | No | D3329 | ||||
| Dextran, Biotin | N/A | N/A | N/A | 10 mg | Yes | D7135 |
| Standard filter set(s) | Fluorophore/ conjugates | Ex/Em (nm) | Quantity | Fixable | Cat. No. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dextran, Cascade Blue | DAPI | Cascade Blue | 400/420 | 25 mg | Yes | D7132 |
| Dextran, Alexa Fluor 488 | FITC | Alexa Fluor 488 | 495/519 | 5 mg | Yes | D22910 |
| Dextran, Fluorescein | Fluorescein | 494/518 | 25 mg | Yes | D1820 | |
| Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine | TAMRA | TAMRA | 494/518 | 25 mg | Yes | D1817 |
| Dextran, Alexa Fluor 546 | TRITC | Alexa Fluor 546 | 556/573 | 5 mg | Yes | D22911 |
| Dextran, Alexa Fluor 555 | Alexa Fluor 555 | 555/565 | 5 mg | Yes | D34679 | |
| Dextran, Alexa Fluor 568 | Rhodamine | Alexa Fluor 568 | 578/603 | 5 mg | Yes | D22912 |
| Dextran, Alexa Fluor 594 | Texas Red | Alexa Fluor 594 | 590/617 | 5 mg | Yes | D22913 |
| Dextran, Texas Red | Texas Red | 595/615 | 25 mg | Yes | D1863 | |
| Dextran, Alexa Fluor 647 | Cy5 | Alexa Fluor 647 | 650/668 | 5 mg | Yes | D22914 |
| Dextran, Alexa Fluor 680 | Cy5.5 | Alexa Fluor 680 | 679/702 | 5 mg | Yes | D34680 |
| Dextran, Biotin | N/A | N/A | N/A | 25 mg | Yes | D1956 |
| Standard filter set(s) | Fluorophore/ conjugates | Ex/Em (nm) | Quantity | Fixable | Cat. No. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40,000 MW | ||||||
| Dextran, Fluorescein, Lysine Fixable | FITC | Alexa Fluor 488 | 495/519 | 25 mg | Yes | D1845 |
| Dextran, Fluorescein, Anionic | No | D1844 | ||||
| Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine | TAMRA | TAMRA | 494/518 | 25 mg | No | D1842 |
| Dextran, Texas Red | Texas Red | Texas Red | 595/615 | 25 mg | No | D1829 |
| 40,000 MW | ||||||
| Dextran, Fluorescein, Lysine Fixable | FITC | Alexa Fluor 488 | 495/519 | 25 mg | Yes | D1845 |
| Dextran, Fluorescein, Anionic | No | D1823 | ||||
| Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine, Lysine Fixable | TAMRA | TAMRA | 494/518 | 25 mg | Yes | D1818 |
| Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine, Neutral | No | D1819 | ||||
| Dextran, Texas Red, Lysine Fixable | Texas Red | Texas Red | 595/615 | 25 mg | Yes | D1864 |
| Dextran, Texas Red, Neutral | No | D1830 | ||||
| 500,000 MW | ||||||
| Dextran, Fluorescein, 500,000 MW | FITC | Alexa Fluor 488 | 495/519 | 10 mg | Yes | D7136 |
| 2,000,000 MW | ||||||
| Dextran, Fluorescein, 500,000 MW | FITC | Alexa Fluor 488 | 495/519 | 10 mg | Yes | D7137 |
| Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine, 2,000,000 MW | TAMRA | TAMRA | 555/580 | 10 mg | Yes | D7139 |
Don’t see the right Dextran conjugate for your experiment, find more in the Molecular Probes Handbook - Dextran Conjugates table
| Standard filter set(s) | Fluorophore/ conjugates | Ex/Em (nm) | Quantity | Fixable | Cat. No. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dextran, Cascade Blue | DAPI | Cascade Blue | 400/420 | 10 mg | Yes | D7132 |
| Dextran, Fluorescein, Lysine Fixable | FITC | Fluorescein | 494/518 | 10 mg | Yes | D3306 |
| Dextran, Fluorescein, Anionic | No | D3305 | ||||
| Dextran, Fluorescein and Biotin | 5 mg | Yes | D7156 | |||
| Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine, Lysine Fixable | TAMRA | TAMRA | 494/518 | 10 mg | Yes | D3308 |
| Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine, Anionic | No | D3307 | ||||
| Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine and Biotin | 555/580 | 5 mg | Yes | D7162 | ||
| Dextran, Texas Red, Lysine Fixable | Texas Red | Texas Red | 595/615 | 10 mg | Yes | D3328 |
| Dextran, Texas Red, Neutral | No | D3329 | ||||
| Dextran, Biotin | N/A | N/A | N/A | 10 mg | Yes | D7135 |
| Standard filter set(s) | Fluorophore/ conjugates | Ex/Em (nm) | Quantity | Fixable | Cat. No. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dextran, Cascade Blue | DAPI | Cascade Blue | 400/420 | 25 mg | Yes | D7132 |
| Dextran, Alexa Fluor 488 | FITC | Alexa Fluor 488 | 495/519 | 5 mg | Yes | D22910 |
| Dextran, Fluorescein | Fluorescein | 494/518 | 25 mg | Yes | D1820 | |
| Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine | TAMRA | TAMRA | 494/518 | 25 mg | Yes | D1817 |
| Dextran, Alexa Fluor 546 | TRITC | Alexa Fluor 546 | 556/573 | 5 mg | Yes | D22911 |
| Dextran, Alexa Fluor 555 | Alexa Fluor 555 | 555/565 | 5 mg | Yes | D34679 | |
| Dextran, Alexa Fluor 568 | Rhodamine | Alexa Fluor 568 | 578/603 | 5 mg | Yes | D22912 |
| Dextran, Alexa Fluor 594 | Texas Red | Alexa Fluor 594 | 590/617 | 5 mg | Yes | D22913 |
| Dextran, Texas Red | Texas Red | 595/615 | 25 mg | Yes | D1863 | |
| Dextran, Alexa Fluor 647 | Cy5 | Alexa Fluor 647 | 650/668 | 5 mg | Yes | D22914 |
| Dextran, Alexa Fluor 680 | Cy5.5 | Alexa Fluor 680 | 679/702 | 5 mg | Yes | D34680 |
| Dextran, Biotin | N/A | N/A | N/A | 25 mg | Yes | D1956 |
| Standard filter set(s) | Fluorophore/ conjugates | Ex/Em (nm) | Quantity | Fixable | Cat. No. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40,000 MW | ||||||
| Dextran, Fluorescein, Lysine Fixable | FITC | Alexa Fluor 488 | 495/519 | 25 mg | Yes | D1845 |
| Dextran, Fluorescein, Anionic | No | D1844 | ||||
| Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine | TAMRA | TAMRA | 494/518 | 25 mg | No | D1842 |
| Dextran, Texas Red | Texas Red | Texas Red | 595/615 | 25 mg | No | D1829 |
| 40,000 MW | ||||||
| Dextran, Fluorescein, Lysine Fixable | FITC | Alexa Fluor 488 | 495/519 | 25 mg | Yes | D1845 |
| Dextran, Fluorescein, Anionic | No | D1823 | ||||
| Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine, Lysine Fixable | TAMRA | TAMRA | 494/518 | 25 mg | Yes | D1818 |
| Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine, Neutral | No | D1819 | ||||
| Dextran, Texas Red, Lysine Fixable | Texas Red | Texas Red | 595/615 | 25 mg | Yes | D1864 |
| Dextran, Texas Red, Neutral | No | D1830 | ||||
| 500,000 MW | ||||||
| Dextran, Fluorescein, 500,000 MW | FITC | Alexa Fluor 488 | 495/519 | 10 mg | Yes | D7136 |
| 2,000,000 MW | ||||||
| Dextran, Fluorescein, 500,000 MW | FITC | Alexa Fluor 488 | 495/519 | 10 mg | Yes | D7137 |
| Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine, 2,000,000 MW | TAMRA | TAMRA | 555/580 | 10 mg | Yes | D7139 |
Don’t see the right Dextran conjugate for your experiment, find more in the Molecular Probes Handbook - Dextran Conjugates table
Dextran applications
Several fluorescent and biotinylated dextran conjugates are offered in molecular weights ranging from 3,000 to 2,000,000 daltons. These dextran conjugates can be used for a variety of applications such as cell lineage tracing (Figure 1), neuronal tracing (Figures 2, 3), investigating cell-cell communication in gap junctions, or tracking endocytosis and pinocytosis.
3,000 MW dextrans are rapidly dispersed into fine cellular projections and can be used to investigate gap junctions. 10,000 MW dextrans are retained within the cell and do not cross gap junctions, and they have slower distribution but longer cellular retention. 500,000 and 2,000,000 MW fluorescent dextran conjugates may be particularly useful for lineage tracing at early stages of development, although these biopolymers have lower water solubility and a greater tendency to precipitate or clog microinjection needles than lower molecular weight dextran conjugates.
Figure 1. Lineage tracing in a Xenopus laevis embryo. Lineage tracing of three dorsal blastomeres of 32-cell Xenopus laevis embryos injected with dextran conjugates. The tier 1 dorsal (A1) blastomere was injected with lysine-fixable 10,000 MW fluorescein dextran, the tier 2 dorsal (B1) blastomere with lysine-fixable 10,000 MW Texas Red dextran, and the tier 3 dorsal (C3) blastomere with lysine-fixable 10,000 MW Cascade Blue dextran. Embryos were fixed in formaldehyde, embedded and sectioned. The image on the left shows a 13 µm-thick section of a stage 6 (32-cell) embryo fixed right after injection; this section exhibits significant autofluorescence due to the presence of residual yolk. The image on the right is a stage 10 (early gastrula) embryo. Triple-exposure photographs of the sectioned embryos were taken on a Zeiss Axiophot with a 10× objective. Images contributed by Marie Vodicka, University of California, Berkeley.
Figure 2. Antero-ventral and antero-dorsal lateral line nerves in an Ambystoma mexicanum brain. The antero-ventral and antero-dorsal lateral line nerves in an Ambystoma mexicanum whole-mounted brain after labeling with 3000 MW Rhodamine Green dextran and lysine-fixable 3,000 MW tetramethylrhodamine dextran, respectively. In both cases, the dextran was applied to the respective cut cranial nerves. This photomicrograph shows the four segregated ventral fascicles of the mechanosensory lateral line fibers and the intermingling of the dorsal electrosensory fibers. Image contributed by Bernd Fritzsch, Creighton University.
Figure 3. Secondary motor neurons in a male western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) spinal cord. Secondary motor neurons in a spinal cord whole mount of a male western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis affinis) that have been labeled with lysine-fixable 3,000 MW Texas Red dextran. The dextran crystals were applied to the bipinnate inclinator muscles of the anal appendicular support fin, and the dye was transported from the axons to cell body and dendrites. Motor neurons were visualized and photographed through a bandpass optical filter appropriate for Texas Red dye, by epifluorescence microscopy. Image contributed by E. Rosa-Molinar, University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Bernd Fritzsch, Creighton University.
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