AATOM™ 488 is a hydrophilic, rhodamine-based fluorescent dye that exhibits enhanced water solubility due to the incorporation of a PEG3 spacer. It is characterized by strong absorption, a high fluorescence quantum yield, and exceptional photostability, making it highly suitable for advanced fluorescence imaging techniques. The dye exhibits optimal excitation within the 480–515 nm wavelength range, aligning precisely with the 488 nm emission line of the Argon-Ion laser. AATOM™ 488 is particularly effective for single-molecule detection and super-resolution microscopy methods such as PALM, dSTORM, and STED. Moreover, it is well-suited for flow cytometry (FACS), fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and other bioanalytical applications.

The PEG3-azide derivative of AATOM™ 488 is widely used for labeling terminal alkynes on peptides, antibodies, and other biomolecules via click chemistry. It participates in copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) with alkyne-containing molecules and strain-promoted alkyne-azide cycloaddition (SPAAC) with DBCO- or BCN-containing molecules. This product is manufactured by AAT Bioquest and is not affiliated with ATTO-TEC GmbH.