Molecular Probes was a

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

company located in Eugene, Oregon specializing in

fluorescence Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, tha ...

. The company was founded in 1975 by Richard and Rosaria Haugland in their kitchen in Minnesota, then moved briefly to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and finally to

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

in the early 1980s. In 1989, Molecular Probes moved from Junction City to its current location in Eugene. While in Texas, the Hauglands developed the

Texas Red Texas Red or sulforhodamine 101 acid chloride is a red fluorescent dye, used in histology for staining cell specimens, for sorting cells with fluorescent-activated cell sorting machines, in fluorescence microscopy applications, and in immunohis ...

dye, a

rhodamine Rhodamine is a family of related dyes, a subset of the triarylmethane dyes. They are derivatives of xanthene. Important members of the rhodamine family are Rhodamine 6G, Rhodamine 123, and Rhodamine B. They are mainly used to dye paper and inks ...

derivative. Other dyes have names that reflect their Oregon heritage, including the Oregon Green and Cascade Blue dyes, while Marina Blue and the

Alexa Fluor The Alexa Fluor family of fluorescent dyes is a series of dyes invented by Molecular Probes, now a part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, and sold under the Invitrogen brand name. Alexa Fluor dyes are frequently used as cell and tissue labels in fluor ...

dyes are named after the Hauglands' children, Marina and Alex. Invitrogen bought Molecular Probes in 2003 for approximately $325 million in cash. The business subsequently became a part of Life Technologies, through the merger of Invitrogen and

Applied Biosystems Applied Biosystems is one of various brands under the Life Technologies brand of Thermo Fisher Scientific corporation. The brand is focused on integrated systems for genetic analysis, which include computerized machines and the consumables used w ...

, and is now part of

Thermo Fisher Scientific Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is an American supplier of scientific instrumentation, reagents and consumables, and software services. Based in Waltham, Massachusetts, Thermo Fisher was formed through the merger of Thermo Electron and Fisher Sc ...

, following Thermo Fisher's acquisition of Life Technologies in 2014.

References

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External links

Molecular Probes Handbook
Biotechnology companies established in 1975 Biotechnology companies of the United States Companies based in Eugene, Oregon 1975 establishments in Minnesota