School of Engineering and Built Environment, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
Chemphyschem. 2012 Feb;13(2):535-41. doi: 10.1002/cphc.201100734. Epub 2011 Dec 30.
The efficiency of Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) can be enhanced in the presence of a metal. Herein, we demonstrate the increased efficiency for a novel model sensor system where FRET is shown to occur between Rhodamine 6G in the bulk sol-gel matrix and Texas Red, which is held a fixed distance away by covalent attachment onto a silane spacer. Silver colloids are formed using light to initiate the reduction of a silver salt, which can be achieved at controlled locations within the film. Both the fluorescence intensity and lifetime maps and analysis indicate that an enhanced FRET efficiency has been achieved in the presence of silver nanoparticles. An increase in efficiency of 1.2-1.5 times is demonstrated depending on the spacer used. The novelty of our approach lies in the method of silver-nanoparticle formation, which allows for the accurate positioning of the silver nanoparticles and hence selective fluorescence enhancement within a biocompatible host material. Our work gives a practical demonstration of metal-enhanced FRET and demonstrates the ability of such systems to be developed for molecular-recognition applications that could find use in lab-on-a-chip technologies.
在金属存在的情况下，Förster 共振能量转移（FRET）的效率可以提高。在此，我们展示了一种新型模型传感器系统的效率提高，在该系统中，我们证明了在体相溶胶-凝胶基质中的罗丹明 6G 和 Texas Red 之间发生 FRET，Texas Red 通过共价附着在硅烷间隔物上保持固定距离。使用光来引发银盐的还原形成银胶体，这可以在薄膜内的受控位置实现。荧光强度和寿命图谱及分析均表明，在存在银纳米粒子的情况下，实现了 FRET 效率的提高。根据所使用的间隔物，效率提高了 1.2-1.5 倍。我们方法的新颖之处在于银纳米粒子形成的方法，这允许银纳米粒子的精确定位，从而在生物相容性宿主材料内实现选择性荧光增强。我们的工作为金属增强的 FRET 提供了实际的演示，并展示了此类系统在可用于芯片实验室技术的分子识别应用中的开发能力。
