Allophycocyanin

<h2 id="structural-characteristics">Structural characteristics</h2>
<p>Allophycocyanin can be isolated from various species of red or blue-green algae, each producing slightly different forms of the molecule. It is composed of two different subunits (α and β) in which each subunit has one phycocyanobilin (PCB) chromophore. The subunit structure for APC has been determined as (αβ)3. The molecular weight of APC is 105,000 daltons.
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<h2 id="spectral-characteristics">Spectral characteristics</h2>
<table><tbody><tr><td>Absorption maximum</td><td>652 nm</td></tr><tr><td>Additional Absorption peak</td><td>625 nm</td></tr><tr><td>Emission maximum</td><td>657.5 nm</td></tr><tr><td>Stokes Shift</td><td>5.5 nm</td></tr><tr><td>Extinction Coefficient</td><td>700,000 M−1cm−1</td></tr><tr><td>Quantum Yield</td><td>0.68</td></tr><tr><td>Brightness</td><td>1.6 x 105 M−1cm−1</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>Cross-linked APC
</p><p>As mentioned above, in order for APC to be useful in immunoassays it must first be chemically cross-linked to prevent it from dissociating into its component subunits when in common physiological buffers.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> The conventional method for accomplishing this is through a destructive process wherein the treated APC trimer is chemically disrupted in 8M urea and then allowed to re-associate through in a physiological buffer.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> An alternative method can be used which preserves the structural integrity of the APC trimer and allows for a brighter, more stable end-product.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a>
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<h2 id="applications">Applications</h2>
<p>Many applications and instruments were developed specifically for Allophycocyanin. It is commonly used in <a href="/facts/Immunoassays/eHo2YM9S">immunoassays</a> such as <a href="/facts/Fluorescence-activated_cell_sorting/M2IvPdL8">FACS</a>, <a href="/facts/Flow_cytometry/M2IvPdL8">flow cytometry</a>, and High Throughput Screening as an acceptor for <a href="/facts/Europium/dqmBm1vr">Europium</a> via <a href="/facts/Time-resolved_fluorescence_energy_transfer/J4wAb078">Time Resolved-Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (TR-FRET)</a> assays.
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<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>Papageorgiou GC, Lagoyanni T (September 1983). "Effects of chaotropic electrolytes on the structure and electronic excitation coupling of glutaraldehyde-and diimido ester-cross-linked phycobilisomes". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics. 724 (3): 323–32. doi:10.1016/0005-2728(83)90091-9. <a href="/wiki/Biochimica_et_Biophysica_Acta" target="_blank">/wiki/Biochimica_et_Biophysica_Acta</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>Yeh SW, Ong LJ, Clark JH, Glazer AN (January 1987). "Fluorescence properties of allophycocyanin and a crosslinked allophycocyanin trimer". Cytometry. 8 (1): 91–5. doi:10.1002/cyto.990080113. PMID 3100257. <a href="/wiki/Cytometry_Part_A" target="_blank">/wiki/Cytometry_Part_A</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>US patent 7256050, Morseman, John Peter; Moss, Mark Wesley & Allnutt, F C Thomas, "High fluorescent intensity cross-linked allophycocyanin", published 2007-08-14,  assigned to Columbia Biosciences Corp.
 <a href="https://worldwide.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=US7256050" target="_blank">https://worldwide.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=US7256050</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
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Allophycocyanin open-in-new

Allophycocyanin