Dextran Conjugates

Xenopus laevis embryo injected with green, red, and blue dextran conjugates

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.

See dextran conjugates selection guide

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				10 mg	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			494/518	10 mg	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	Texas Red	Texas Red	595/615	10 mg	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	FITC	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	TRITC	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	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	FITC	Alexa Fluor 488	495/519	25 mg	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	FITC	Alexa Fluor 488	495/519	25 mg	No	D1823
Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine, Lysine Fixable	TAMRA	TAMRA	494/518	25 mg	Yes	D1818
Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine, Neutral	TAMRA	TAMRA	494/518	25 mg	No	D1819
Dextran, Texas Red, Lysine Fixable	Texas Red	Texas Red	595/615	25 mg	Yes	D1864
Dextran, Texas Red, Neutral	Texas Red	Texas Red	595/615	25 mg	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

3,000 MW

	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				10 mg	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			494/518	10 mg	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	Texas Red	Texas Red	595/615	10 mg	No	D3329
Dextran, Biotin	N/A	N/A	N/A	10 mg	Yes	D7135

10,000 MW

	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	FITC	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	TRITC	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	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

40,000–2,000,000 MW

	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	FITC	Alexa Fluor 488	495/519	25 mg	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	FITC	Alexa Fluor 488	495/519	25 mg	No	D1823
Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine, Lysine Fixable	TAMRA	TAMRA	494/518	25 mg	Yes	D1818
Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine, Neutral	TAMRA	TAMRA	494/518	25 mg	No	D1819
Dextran, Texas Red, Lysine Fixable	Texas Red	Texas Red	595/615	25 mg	Yes	D1864
Dextran, Texas Red, Neutral	Texas Red	Texas Red	595/615	25 mg	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.

Learn more about 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.

Nerves labeled with green and red dextran conjugates

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.

Spinal cord neurons labeled with red dextran conjugates

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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