Imaging of biological structures in living cells without transfections, without phototoxicity, without tedious washing protocols and without unspecific background staining?

Spirochrome has developed a whole range of reagents and probes, including SiR-DNA, SiR-actin and SiR-tubulin, that allow imaging in living cells with unprecedented resolution and low background.

  • SPY probes
  • Flipper-TR mechanobiology probes
  • SiR and SiR700 probes
  • SiR reagents
Microscopy and live imaging
Assay kits
Cell culture
Website
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SPY probes

Spirochrome’s SPY™ probes are revolutionary fluorogenic live cell fluorescent probes covering the whole visible spectrum

SPY™ probes are live cell, fluorogenic, photostable and STED/SIM compatible. They keep all the nice properties of our SiR-probes but work in different channels such as FITC, TMR or Texas Red. Probes for DNA (nucleus), actin and microtubules are available.

SPY-DNA probes are a better alternative for Hoechst dyes

The are numerous advantages to using SPY-DNA when compared to classical Hoechst, in particular for long term imaging.

  • The wavelength used to excite Hoechst (ca 450 nm) is highly phototoxic and induces cell death. SPY650-DNA uses far-red excitation (Cy5 filters or settings) which is much more gentle for the cells.
  • Hoechst itself has a strong cytotoxicity, even without illuminating the cells. This cytotoxicity strongly increases with the Hoechst concentration used.

Consider the toxicity assay shown on the right. Different dilutions of SPY-DNA probes (green/red/pink/yellow dots) were compared with different concentrations of Hoechst dye (black dots) and cell survival was measured. Toxic effects of Hoechst appear at 50 nM, well below the typical recommended concentration of 1700 nM (1 ug/ml). SPY-DNA probes show no toxicity in the working dilution window (green area).

SPY products

Cat-No.ItemSizePrice (CHF)
SC101SPY505-DNA100 stainings330.00
SC201SPY555-DNA100 stainings330.00
SC202SPY555-Actin100 stainings435.00
SC203SPY555-Tubulin100 stainings435.00
SC204SPY555-BG35 nmol330.00
SC301SPY595-DNA100 stainings330.00
SC401SPY620-DNA100 stainings330.00
SC402SPY620-Actin100 stainings435.00
SC404SPY620-BG35 nmol330.00
SC501SPY650-DNA100 stainings330.00
SC503SPY650-Tubulin100 stainings435.00
sc505SPY650-FastAct100 stainings435.00

Flipper-TR fluorescent probes for mechanobiology

Flipper-TR® is a live cell fluorescent membrane tension probe. It is the first fluorescent membrane tension reporter developed for the field of mechanobiology. The fluorescence lifetime of Flipper-TR® is strongly dependent on the membrane tension, therefore through FLIM imaging it is possible to measure precisely the spatio-temporal distribution of tension in membranes. Flipper-TR® opens up a whole new field by giving access to real time membrane tension measurements in live cells.

Flipper-TR products

Cat-No.ItemSizePrice (CHF)
SC020Flipper-TR50 nmol415.00
SC021ER Flipper-TR35 nmol415.00
SC022Lyso Flipper-TR35 nmol415.00
SC023Mito Flipper-TR35 nmol415.00

SiR probes

Spirochrome’s SiR probes are based on the fluorphore Silicon Rhodamine (SiR). Its key features are:

  • Cell permeability
  • Fluorogenic character
  • Compatibility with super-resolution microscopy

The fluorescence excitation and emission of SiR are in the far-red, reducing phototoxicity in live-cell imaging experiments. SiR is compatible with most microscopes as it can be used with standard Cy5 settings. The combination of all these properties set SiR-based probes apart from other fluorescent probes. Spirochrome SiR-probes work as simple as “add and image”

Spirochrome provides live cell imaging probes for DNA, Actin, Microtubules and lysosomes that are available in two colors: SiR and SiR700

SiR products

Cat-No.ItemSizePrice (CHF)
SC001SiR-actin kit50 nmol495.00
SC002SiR-tubulin kit50 nmol495.00
SC006Cytoskeleton kit2 x 50 nmol750.00
SC007SiR-DNA kit50 nmol330.00
SC012SiR-Lysosome kit50 nmol365.00
SC013SiR700-actin kit35 nmol495.00
SC014SiR700-tubulin kit35 nmol495.00
SC015SiR700-DNA kit35 nmol330.00
SC016SiR700-lysosome kit35 nmol365.00
SC604SiR700-BG35 nmol330.00

SiR fluorophore and reagents

Spirochrome provides SiR-reagents for the preparation protein, nucleic acid, peptide or small molecules SiR-conjugates creating tailor-made probes. Currently, carboxylic acid, NHS ester, maleimide, alkyne, azide, tetrazine and BCN derivatives of SiR are available.

SiR reagents

Cat-No.ItemSizePrice (CHF)
SC003-1mgSiR-NHS ester1 mg320.00
SC003-5mgSiR-NHS ester5 mg750.00
SC004-1mgSiR-COOH1 mg320.00
SC004-5mgSiR-COOH5 mg670.00
SC008SiR-tetrazine1 mg350.00
SC009SiR-azide1 mg350.00
SC010SiR-alkyne1 mg350.00
SC011SiR-maleimide1 mg350.00
SC017SiR-BCN1 mg350.00

Global distributors

Australia and New Zealand

Klein Scientific

China

BeiJing LeBo Biotech - Shanghai Yubo International

Singapore

Sciencewerke

South Korea

Sungwoo Life Science