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Fluorophore

Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Definition

A fluorophore is a molecule or a portion of a molecule that has fluorescent properties. While many compounds are inherently fluorescent as they contain fluorophores, there are many compounds that are not. For the sake of analyzing these latter types of molecules, a fluorophore is often introduced via chemical derivatization with a fluorescent reagent, for example, fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) or fluorescamine. Many widely used DNA stains and cell stains such as 4′, 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) are fluorophore-containing molecules.

In the interstellar medium, infrared emission attributed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules (PAHs) is thought to result from fluorescence following the absorption of ultraviolet photons.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20015, USA

    Henderson James (Jim) Cleaves II

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  1. Henderson James (Jim) Cleaves II
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Correspondence to Henderson James (Jim) Cleaves II .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Cleaves, H.J.(. (2014). Fluorophore. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_583-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_583-4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Fluorophore
    Published:
    06 September 2022

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_583-5

  2. Original

    Fluorophore
    Published:
    06 May 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_583-4

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