Allophycocyanin (APC) is a phycobiliprotein isolated from Spirulina sp., a blue-green alga. Like other phycobiliproteins, APC is fluorescent, with an extremely high absorptivity and a high quantum efficiency. It is a protein which can be easily linked to antibodies and other proteins by conventional protein cross-linking techniques without altering its spectral characteristics. APC-Cy7 is a popular color used in flow cytometry. Its primary absorption peak is at 651 nm with emission peak at~780 nm.

AAT Bioquest also offers a unique preactivated APC-Cy7 to facilitate the APC-Cy7 tandem conjugations to antibodies and other proteins such as streptavidin and other secondary reagents. Our preactivated APC-Cy7 tandem is ready to conjugate, giving much higher yield than the conventionally tedious SMCC-based conjugation chemistry. In addition, our preactivated APC-Cy7 tandem is conjugated to a protein via its amino group that is abundant in proteins while SMCC chemistry targets the thiol group that has to be regenerated by the reduction of antibodies.