Rhodamine Red™-X (RRX)

RRX (Rhodamine Red-X) conjugates have a peak of excitation at 570 nm and a peak of emission at 590 nm. Although TRITC has been used traditionally with FITC for double labeling, better color separation is achieved by using RRX or Alexa Fluor® 594. Rhodamine Red-X is particularly useful for 3- and 4-color labeling with DyLight 405, Alexa Fluor® 488, and Alexa Fluor® 647 by using a confocal microscope equipped with a 405 nm laser and a krypton/argon laser. Fluorescence from RRX lies about midway between that of Alexa Fluor® 488 and Alexa Fluor® 647, and it shows little overlap with either dye. The krypton-argon laser emits lines at 488 nm, 568 nm, and 647 nm, which are optimal for exciting Alexa Fluor® 488, RRX, and Alexa Fluor® 647, respectively. By adding a 405 nm laser and a 420 nm emission filter, 4-color labeling is possible using DyLight 405-conjugated secondary antibodies from JIR (Figure 5). The separation between all four dyes is perfect for 4-color labeling, and all four dyes are very bright.