A molecular probe is a group of

atoms Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas ...

molecules A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bio ...

used in

molecular biology Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and phys ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

to study the properties of other molecules or structures. If some measurable property of the molecular probe used changes when it interacts with the analyte (such as a change in

absorbance Absorbance is defined as "the logarithm of the ratio of incident to transmitted radiant power through a sample (excluding the effects on cell walls)". Alternatively, for samples which scatter light, absorbance may be defined as "the negative lo ...

), the interactions between the probe and the analyte can be studied. This makes it possible to indirectly study the properties of compounds and structures which may be hard to study directly. The choice of molecular probe will depend on which compound or structure is being studied as well as on what property is of interest. Radioactive DNA or RNA sequences are used in

molecular genetics Molecular genetics is a sub-field of biology that addresses how differences in the structures or expression of DNA molecules manifests as variation among organisms. Molecular genetics often applies an "investigative approach" to determine the ...

to detect the presence of a complementary sequence by molecular

hybridization Hybridization (or hybridisation) may refer to: *Hybridization (biology), the process of combining different varieties of organisms to create a hybrid *Orbital hybridization, in chemistry, the mixing of atomic orbitals into new hybrid orbitals *Nu ...

Common probes

* digoxigenin * ANS * porphyrin *

BODIPY BODIPY is the technical common name of a chemical compound with formula , whose molecule consists of a boron difluoride group joined to a dipyrromethene group ; specifically, the compound 4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-''s''-indacene in the ...

* Cyanine * Hybridization probe

References

External links

* * Molecular biology Biochemistry {{biochem-stub