iFluor(TM) 647-Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) Conjugate

Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) is a lectin that binds to N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and sialic acid. It is of the most studied and useful lectins for it biological applications. Since WGA binds to glycoconjugates its derivatives and conjugates are widely used to label cell membranes and fibrotic scar tissue for fluorescence imaging and analysis. The carbohydrate-binding specificity of WGA is directed against sequences of beta-1,4-GlcNAc-linked residues, the chitodextrins. Each monomer contains two identical, non-interacting binding sites which are complementary to 3 or 4 beta-1,4-GlcNAc units. Of the monosaccharides examined, only GlcNAc binds to WGA. ManNAc does not bind and GalNAc binds only weakly. iFluor(TM)647 conjugate of WGA exhibits the bright, red fluorescence of the iFluor(TM) 647 dye. iFluor(TM)647 WGA conjugate binds to sialic acid and N-acetylglucosaminyl residues as AF647 WGA conjugate does.