DyLight® conjugated secondary antibodies

Last edited Sat, 26 Apr 2025

An alternative to conventional dyes.

DyLight® fluorochromes are high-performance fluorescent conjugates, most commonly used in ICC, IHC, ELISA, and flow cytometry. Useful in both single and multi-color experiments, DyLight® dyes express higher fluorescence intensity and photostability than many spectrally similar dyes.

Our catalog includes DyLight® 488, DyLight® 550, DyLight® 594 and DyLight® 650 conjugates, validated extensively in the most popular applications

Find the right DyLight® secondary antibody for you

Advantages of DyLight® conjugated secondary antibodies

High fluorescent intensity: intense emission provides high sensitivity.
Narrow emission spectra: minimal bleed-through between fluorochrome channels makes multi-color imaging easy.
High photostability: higher resistance to photobleaching.
pH stability: remains stable and fluorescent in buffers from pH 4.0-9.0.
Enables high dye-to-antibody ratio: water solubility prevents precipitation of conjugates.

Popular DyLight® fluorochromes

DyLight® 488

DyLight® 488 is a fluorophore that appears green to human vision. The dye’s maximum excitation/absorption wavelength is 493 nm and the maximum emission wavelength is 518 nm (see spectra graph, left). Spectrally equivalent dyes include FITC, CY2®, and Alexa Fluor® 488.

DyLight® 488 spectra graph

Image 1 (left): DyLight® 488 spectra graph

DyLight® 550

DyLight® 550 is a fluorophore that appears yellow, with a maximum excitation/absorption wavelength of 562 nm and maximum emission wavelength of 576 nm (see spectra graph, left). Spectrally equivalent dyes include TRITC, Cy3®, and Alexa Fluor® 555.

DyLight® 550 spectra graph

Image 2 (left): DyLight® 550 spectra graph

DyLight® 594

DyLight® 594 is a fluorophore that appears orange, with a maximum excitation/absorption wavelength of 593 nm and maximum emission wavelength of 618 nm (see spectra graph, left). Texas Red® is a good spectral equivalent.

DyLight® 594 spectra graph

Image 3 (left): DyLight® 594 spectra graph

DyLight® 650

DyLight® 650 is a fluorophore that appears orange, with a maximum excitation/absorption wavelength of 652 nm and maximum emission wavelength of 672 nm (see spectra graph, left). Cy5® is a good spectral equivalent.

DyLight® 650 spectra graph

Image 4 (left): DyLight® 650 spectra graph

Multiple staining with DyLight® conjugated secondary antibodies

If working with more than one DyLight® conjugated secondary antibody, it is important to use antibodies with distinct emission maximum (at least 40 nm difference). The emission spectra of each dye can be seen below:

Emission spectra of DyLight® fluorochromes available

Image 5 (above): Emission spectra of DyLight® fluorochromes available. Line colors represent the approximate visible colors of the wavelength maxima.

DyLight® is a trademark of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. and its subsidiaries.

Cy® and CyDye® are trademarks of GE Healthcare Limited.

Alexa Fluor® is a registered trademark of Life Technologies. Alexa Fluor® dye conjugates contain(s) technology licensed to Abcam by Life Technologies.