The microsphere populations in the QuantumPlex™five-bead kits are encoded with different intensities of Starfire Red™, and microspheres in our ten-bead kits are distinguished by both fluorescence intensity and size. Starfire Red™ is a fluorescent dye with unique characteristics that make it ideal for multiplexing applications. The dyes broad excitation band allows it to be excited at a number of wavelengths, and it emits in the FL3 channel (685nm) with very little carry-over into FL1 or FL2, leaving othe detectors available for determination of positive binding events via common reporters such as FITC and PE.

QuantumPlex™ Single Population (SP) kits consist of 1-particle, dyed with Bangs Starfire Red™ dye, which is suitable for use with any standard flow cytometer. Particles are available with carboxyl or streptavidin to bind biotin. For Flow Cytometry Resources, visit the Bangs Flow Blog.