The Click-iT™ Plus OPP Alexa Fluor™ 488 Protein Synthesis Assay Kit provides a fast, sensitive, and non-radioactive method for the detection of protein synthesis using fluorescence microscopy or high-content imaging. In this assay O-propargyl-puromycin (OPP) is efficiently incorporated into newly translated proteins in complete methionine-containing media and fluorescently labeled with a bright, photostable Alexa Fluor™ dye in a fast, highly-specific, and mild click reaction.

Features of the kit include:

• No media change required—works in complete, methionine-containing media, no need to remove cell media
• Multiplex-enabled—Click-iT™ Plus technology retains signal from GFP and binding of fluorescent-conjugated phalloidins
• Non-radioactive—an alternative to the traditional ³⁵S-methionine methods
• Works in vivo—published results demonstrate use in vivo for determination of protein translation

The kit contains O-propargyl-puromycin (OPP), which is an alkyne analog of puromycin (also available separately), as well as Alexa Fluor™ 488 picolyl azide and all necessary reagents to perform the Click reaction. The OPP is fed to cultured cells and incorporated into proteins during active protein synthesis. Addition of the Alexa Fluor™ 488 picolyl azide and the Click reaction reagents leads to a chemoselective ligation, or 'click' reaction, between the picolyl azide dye and the OPP alkyne, allowing the modified proteins to be detected by imaged-based analysis.

The click reaction uses bioorthogonal (biologically unique) moieties to fluorescently label proliferating cells, helping produce low backgrounds and high detection sensitivities. Because of the mild reaction conditions, Click-iT™ Plus assays detect protein translation events while enabling the preservation of cell morphology, the binding of fluorescently-labeled phalloidin, and the fluorescent signal from GFP.

Unlike ³⁵S-methionine, used in traditional methods, OPP is not an amino acid analog, so it can be added directly to cells in complete media or used to determine protein synthesis in vivo.

The kit contains all of the components needed to label and detect the incorporated OPP in newly translated proteins in samples of adherent cells. The kit includes sufficient reagents for the labeling of 25 18 mm × 18 mm coverslips using 1 mL of reaction buffer per test.