6-acryloyl-2-dimethylaminonaphthalene (acrylodan)
from
Molecular Probes (Invitrogen)
Description
The thiol reactive acrylodan (6-acryloyl-2-dimethylaminonaphthalene) generally reacts with thiols more slowly than iodoacetamides or maleimides, but does form very strong thioether bonds that are expected to remain stable under conditions required for complete amino acid analysis. The fluorescence emission peak and intensity of these adducts are particularly sensitive to conformational changes or ligand binding, making this dye one of the most useful thiol-reactive probe for protein structure studies. The environment-sensitive spectral shift of acrylodan conjugates may make this useful for distinguishing thiols that are located in membranes versus those exposed to aqueous solvation in cells.