About Surfactant protein A
This gene encodes a lung surfactant protein that is a member of a subfamily of C-type lectins called collectins. The encoded protein binds specific carbohydrate moieties found on lipids and on the surface of microorganisms. This protein plays an essential role in surfactant homeostasis and in the defense against respiratory pathogens. Mutations in this gene are associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Alternate splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, May 2010]

About Alexa Fluor 488
Alexa Fluor™ 488 (AF488, Alexa 488) has an excitation peak at 488 nm and an emission peak at 496 nm, and is considered a high-performance alternative to FITC. Alexa 488 is one of the most popular Alexa Fluor™ dyes and is widely used in Fluorescence Microscopy, flow cytometry, and for staining low expression markers. It is bright, highly photostable, resistant to pH changes, and less susceptible to photobleaching. Alexa 488 and is similar in size, brightness and application to DyLight™ 488, iFluor® 488 and CF®488A.