Fluorophore

Fluorophore is a functional group in a molecule that emits light upon absorption of light. The absorbed light is usually in the ultraviolet range, and the emitted light is usually in the visible range. Fluorophores are used in a variety of applications, including fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, and fluorescent labeling.

Structure and Function

A fluorophore typically contains several conjugated double bonds, which form a system of delocalized pi electrons. When a molecule containing a fluorophore absorbs a photon, an electron in the fluorophore is excited to a higher energy state. The electron then returns to its ground state, releasing the excess energy as a photon of light. This process is known as fluorescence.

The wavelength of the emitted light is longer than that of the absorbed light, a phenomenon known as the Stokes shift. The size of the Stokes shift is characteristic of the particular fluorophore and can be used to identify it.

Applications

Fluorophores are widely used in biological and chemical research. They can be attached to other molecules, such as proteins or nucleic acids, to make these molecules visible under a fluorescence microscope. This technique, known as fluorescent labeling, is used to study the structure and function of these molecules in living cells.

Fluorophores are also used in flow cytometry, a technique used to analyze and sort cells. In this application, different types of cells are labeled with different fluorophores, and the cells are then sorted based on the colors of light they emit when illuminated with ultraviolet light.

See Also

• Fluorescence
• Fluorescence microscopy
• Flow cytometry
• Fluorescent labeling
• Stokes shift

References

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