About CD163
The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the scavenger receptor cysteine-rich (SRCR) superfamily, and is exclusively expressed in monocytes and macrophages. It functions as an acute phase-regulated receptor involved in the clearance and endocytosis of hemoglobin/haptoglobin complexes by macrophages, and may thereby protect tissues from free hemoglobin-mediated oxidative damage. This protein may also function as an innate immune sensor for bacteria and inducer of local inflammation. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been described for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Aug 2011]

About Brilliant Violet 650
Brilliant™ Violet 650 (BV650) is a red-emitting tandem fluorophore that can be excited by the 405 nm Violet laser and collected using a 660/20 bandpass filter. BV650 has an excitation peak at 405 nm and an emission peak at 645 nm. Due to its unique Stokes shift, not many dyes have identical excitation and emission spectrums, but the nearest alternatives include SuperBright 645, Qdot® 655 and eFluor™ 650NC (ThermoFisher). BV650 exhibits a medium level of brightness and is most often used in flow cytometry, specifically, it is an alternative to nanocrystals used for intracellular flow. This dye is part of the Brilliant™ Violet dye line of fluorescent polymers. Brilliant™ Violet 421 polymer is employed as the donor molecule in a series of tandem dyes with acceptor molecules emitting at various points across the visible light spectrum. The Brilliant™ Violet dyes are a superior alternative to QDot nanocrystals and similar to SuperNova dye from Beckman Coulter and StarBright dyes from Bio-Rad.