Fluorescamine is a spiro compound that is not fluorescent itself, but reacts with primary amines to form highly fluorescent products, i.e. it is fluorogenic. It hence has been used as a reagent for the detection of amines and peptides.[2] 1-100 μg of protein and down to 10 pg of protein can be detected.[3][4] Once bound to protein the excitation wavelength is 381 nm (near ultraviolet) and the emission wavelength is 470 nm (blue).[5] This method is found to suffer from high blanks resulting from a high rate of hydrolysis due to requiring a large excess concentration.[6] Alternative methods are based on ortho-phthalaldehyde (OPA), Ellman's reagent (DTNB), or epicocconone.
^Doetsch, Paul W.; Cassady, John M.; McLaughlin, Jerry L. (1980). "Cactus alkaloids : XL. Identification of mescaline and other β-phenethylamines in Pereskia, Pereskiopsis and Islaya by use of fluorescamine conjugates". Journal of Chromatography A. 189: 79–85. doi:10.1016/S0021-9673(00)82285-2.
^Böhlen, Peter; Stein, Stanley; Dairman, Wallace; Udenfriend, Sidney (1973). "Fluorometric assay of proteins in the nanogram range". Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 155 (1): 213–220. doi:10.1016/S0003-9861(73)80023-2. PMID4736505.
