Since I need to use this for microscopy, which company produces the brightest conjugate (preferably staining up to the 4th log by FACS for mouse DCs.)? BD, Biolegend, eBiosciences, other?
Hi Guess all company antibody will work smoothly. I have used most of these antibody for flow cytometry as well as for confocal microscope for migration of Dendritic cell from skin to lymphnode. If you just want one then i can go for BD or Biolegend..... although ebioscience Ab will work.....
Generally, it does not matter who makes the antibody. You should choose a fluorophore that is brightest. E.g. APC or PE tend to be brighter than most others. But I would also say cd11c is often very highly expressed my some cells e.g. Migratory DC. Therefore it does require a particularly bright fluorophore to get sufficient staining on the flow cytometer.
PE photobleaches very quickly under a microscope. Working with a fluorochrome for flow cytometry and working with it in a fluorescent microscope are two different things. If you need the same conjugated antibody for both, then you'll need to weigh the pros and cons of each flourochrome. Also you might want to check which filters you have on your microscope, and start with what is suitable for both technically.