Tide Fluor™ 5 (TF5) family has the spectral properties essentially identical to those of Cy5. Compared to Cy5 probes TF5 family has much stronger fluorescence and higher photostability. Additionally their fluorescence is pH-independent from pH 3 to 11. These characteristics make this new dye family a superior alternative to Cy5. TF5-labeled peptides and nucleotides exhibit much stronger fluorescence and higher photostability than the ones labeled with Cy5. In pairing with our Tide Quencher™ 5 (TQ5), a variety of FRET peptides and nucleotides can be developed for detecting proteases and molecular beacons with enhanced sensitivity and stability.