Bio-Rad Expands Range of TrailBlazer Kits for Antibody Conjugation to StarBright Dyes

Expanded Range Increases Access to Bio-Rad’s StarBright Dyes for Flow Cytometry and Western Blot Applications in Immunology Research

5 May 2025 -- California, US -- Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc, a global leader in life science research and clinical diagnostics products, today announced the expansion of its TrailBlazer StarBright Dye Label Kits, offering a convenient method for conjugating antibodies to premium fluorophores. Now with the full range commercially available in Europe, the kits enable optimal panel design for both flow cytometry and fluorescent western blot experiments.

Used in combination with Bio-Rad’s TrailBlazer Tag Kit, the TrailBlazer StarBright Dye Label Kits employ SpyTag and SpyCatcher technology to conjugate a StarBright Dye to an antibody of choice, resulting in highly stable conjugated antibodies for use in downstream applications. The newly expanded range includes a total of 32 different TrailBlazer StarBright Dye Label Kits, facilitating optimal panel design and high-quality flow cytometry data generation, including applications where commercially available antibody-fluorophore combinations are limited. With broad antibody compatibility and long-term stability, the new TrailBlazer StarBright Dye Label Kits provide researchers across industry and academia with access to Bio-Rad’s StarBright UltraViolet, Violet, Blue, Yellow, and Red Dyes, simplifying panel design.

“The expansion of our TrailBlazer StarBright Dye Label Kit portfolio, now totaling 32 kits, offers our customers a more flexible solution for panel design, providing all the benefits of StarBright Dyes for any antibody of choice,” said Hilary Mavor, Marketing Director, Life Science Group, Bio-Rad. “By offering broad antibody compatibility and long-term stability, the additional TrailBlazer StarBright Dye Label Kits will enable generation of consistent and high-quality conjugated antibodies for flow cytometry and fluorescent western blot applications.”

Bio-Rad’s range of StarBright Dyes, proprietary fluorescent nanoparticles conjugated to flow-validated antibodies against key immunological targets, offers researchers exceptional brightness with narrow excitation and emission profiles for precise resolution. StarBright Dyes are compatible with most experimental protocols and flow cytometers, including the Bio-Rad ZE5 Cell Analyzer, without the need for special buffers, providing highly sensitive fluorescent detection, improving resolution of specific cell populations, and minimizing spillover and spreading. Minimal lot-to-lot variation helps to ensure reproducible and consistent staining, and the dyes are resistant to photobleaching with no loss of signal in fixation. For fluorescent western blots, StarBright Blue 700 and StarBright Blue 520, designed to work with the configuration of the ChemiDoc MP and ChemiDoc Go Imagers, are labeled to anti-mouse and anti-rabbit secondary antibodies, facilitating bright, highly sensitive fluorescent detection with short exposure times.

To learn more about Bio-Rad’s TrailBlazer Tag and StarBright Dye Label Kits, visit bio-rad-antibodies.com/tbkits.

About Bio-Rad
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc is a leader in developing, manufacturing, and marketing a broad range of products for the life science research and clinical diagnostics markets. Based in Hercules, California, Bio-Rad operates a global network of research, development, manufacturing, and sales operations with approximately 7,400 employees and $2.6 billion in revenues in 2025. Our customers include universities, research institutions, hospitals, and biopharmaceutical companies, as well as clinical, food safety and environmental quality laboratories. Together, we develop innovative, high-quality products that advance science and save lives. To learn more, visit bio-rad.com.