New Kits Offer Broad Antibody Compatibility and Long-Term Stability for Flow Cytometry and Western Blot Applications.

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., a global leader in life science research and clinical diagnostics products, today announced the launch of its TrailBlazer™ Tag and TrailBlazer StarBright™ Dye Label Kits. The new kits offer a convenient method to label any antibody with one of Bio-Rad’s StarBright Dyes, for use in either flow cytometry or fluorescent western blot experiments.

The new two-kit system provides researchers across academia, pharma, and biotech access to Bio-Rad’s StarBright Blue and StarBright Violet Dyes, employing Bio-Rad’s SpyTag and SpyCatcher technology to conjugate a dye to an antibody of choice. This enables the design and generation of bespoke, flexible high-plex panels for flow cytometry and easy multiplex integration for fluorescent western blots.

“The new TrailBlazer Tag and StarBright Dye Label Kits are designed for researchers who require greater flexibility in their multiplex experiments, providing multiple label color palette options and access to a select range of our unique StarBright Blue and StarBright Violet Dyes, with additional dyes to be added to the range in the near future,” said Hilary Mavor, Marketing Director, Life Science Group, Bio-Rad. “With an easy-to-follow protocol and minimal hands-on time, the kits offer a simple process, resulting in user-independent, consistent, high-quality conjugated antibodies.”

Bio-Rad’s range of StarBright Dyes, proprietary fluorescent nanoparticles conjugated to flow-validated antibodies against key immunological targets, offers researchers exceptional brightness with narrow excitation and emission profiles for precise resolution. StarBright Dyes are compatible with most experimental protocols and flow cytometers, including the Bio-Rad ZE5 Cell Analyzer, without the need for special buffers, providing highly sensitive fluorescent detection, improving resolution of specific cell populations, and minimizing spillover and spreading. For fluorescent western blots, StarBright Blue 700 and 520, designed to work with the configuration of the ChemiDoc™ MP and ChemiDoc Go Imagers, are labeled to anti-mouse and anti-rabbit secondary antibodies, facilitating bright, highly sensitive fluorescent detection with short exposure times.

Bio-Rad’s TrailBlazer Tag and StarBright Dye Label Kits are currently available in the US and Canada only.

BIO-RAD, CHEMIDOC, and STARBRIGHT are trademarks of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. in certain jurisdictions. TRAILBLAZER is a trademark of Bio-Rad Europe GmbH in certain jurisdictions.  

About Bio-Rad  

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: BIO and BIO.B) is a leader in developing, manufacturing, and marketing a broad range of products for the life science research and clinical diagnostics markets. Based in Hercules, California, Bio-Rad operates a global network of research, development, manufacturing, and sales operations with approximately 7,700 employees and $2.7 billion in revenues in 2023. Our customers include universities, research institutions, hospitals, and biopharmaceutical companies, as well as clinical, food safety and environmental quality laboratories. Together, we develop innovative, high-quality products that advance science and save lives.