Steptavidin, a bacterial protein isolated from Streptomyces avidinii, is similar to egg-white avidin in its ability to bind biotin, and has been used as a replacement for egg-white avidin because of its more favorable chemical properties.
Conjugates of streptavidin are recommended for use with Biotin-SP-conjugated antibodies and Biotin-SP-conjugated ChromPure proteins.
Conjugate: Fluorescein (DTAF)
DTAF (Dichlorotriazinylamino fluorescein) is another form of fluorescein, with excitation and emission peaks identical to those of FITC. We use DTAF (instead of FITC) only for conjugation with streptavidin, since fluorescence from FITC is greatly quenched after conjugation with streptavidin. This phenomenon is unique to streptavidin, and is not observed with antibodies.