About CD169
This gene encodes a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily. The encoded protein is a lectin-like adhesion molecule that binds glycoconjugate ligands on cell surfaces in a sialic acid-dependent manner. It is a type I transmembrane protein expressed only by a subpopulation of macrophages and is involved in mediating cell-cell interactions. Alternative splicing produces a transcript variant encoding an isoform that is soluble rather than membrane-bound; however, the full-length nature of this variant has not been determined. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]

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.