acfTAT – Fluorescent Peptides

TAT contains a protein transduction domain which allows it to enter cells by crossing the cell membrane. The amino acid sequence of the protein transduction domain (PTD) and this property confers cell penetrating peptide properties on TAT and derivatives. TAT peptides have been widely used to deliver functional biomolecules into cells both in vitro and in vivo. The entire protein can be used but in practice it is more efficient to use truncated sequences containing only the basic residues required for transport. Through covalent attachment to TAT derived peptides, cargo molecules including proteins, nucleic acids, small molecules, oligonucleotides, enzymes, polymers, plasmid DNA and liposomes can be transported into cells with high efficiency. acfTAT is a fusion of the TAT PTD to a red fluorescent tag (TAMRA) at the carboxy terminal. This peptide is ideal for live cell localisation work using fluorescent microscopy as the TAT PTD can transduce small peptides into the cell efficiently without affecting the cell. Additionally, the fluorescent label is highly stable against photo bleaching and should be easily detectable under various excitation sources including mercury, arc, tungsten, and xenon lamps.