HMBR is a non-fluorescent, cell-permeable fluorogenic dye that binds to the Yellow Fluorescence-Activating and Absorption-Shifting Tag (Y-FAST) and emits yellow fluorescence upon blue light excitation, with Ex/Em of 491/525-539nm[1,2]. HMBR exhibits low cytotoxicity and is commonly used as a fluorescent reporter for detecting and imaging protein expression in living cells, such as in zebrafish embryos[3,4,5].
Reference:
[1] Plamont M A, Billon-Denis E, Maurin S, et al. Small fluorescence-activating and absorption-shifting tag for tunable protein imaging in vivo[J]. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2016, 113(3): 497-502.
[2] Pimenta F M, Chiappetta G, Le Saux T, et al. Chromophore renewal and fluorogen-binding tags: a match made to last[J]. Scientific Reports, 2017, 7(1): 12316.
[3] Tebo A G, Moeyaert B, Thauvin M, et al. Orthogonal fluorescent chemogenetic reporters for multicolor imaging[J]. Nature Chemical Biology, 2021, 17(1): 30-38.
[4] Streett H E, Kalis K M, Papoutsakis E T. A strongly fluorescing anaerobic reporter and protein-tagging system for Clostridium organisms based on the fluorescence-activating and absorption-shifting tag protein (FAST)[J]. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2019, 85(14): e00622-19.
[5] El Hajji L, Bunel B, Joliot O, et al. A tunable and versatile chemogenetic near-infrared fluorescent reporter[J]. Nature Communications, 2025, 16(1): 2594.