Hello
It is well know that FRET can be used to measure the interaction between two molecules.
I wonder if FRET can be used to amplify fluorescence signal by placing numerous acceptor near each donor.
Is it possible to excite a lot of acceptors by utlilzing just one or few donors?
Thank you
Dear Yoonho Roh,
the answer on your question is known more 40 years. This is Surface-sensitized luminescence. You can read papers about analytical application of the phenomenon:
Seybold, P. G., Hinckley, D. A., & Heinrichs, T. A. (1983). Surface-sensitized luminescence. Analytical Chemistry, 55(12), 1994-1996.
Vo-Dinh, T., & White, D. A. (1986). Sensitized fluorescence spectrometry using solid organic substrate. Analytical Chemistry, 58(6), 1128-1133.
Fluorescence intensity depends on the quantum yield of the fluorophore. You cannot just amplify it with energy transfer. However, you can improve the energy transfer efficiency within a certain limit.
It is possible to excite a lot of acceptors by few donors, and vice versa, if there are spectral overlap. Spectral overlap is the only criteria apart from the proximity.
The fluorescence of the acceptor can often be increased by FRET, when the excitation wavelength of the donor is used. (However, the acceptor fluorescence will be greater if it is excited at its own excitation wavelength.) By spreading the excitation energy of a single donor among several acceptors, each acceptor will receive less excitation energy than a single donor would, so any individual acceptor will be have lower fluorescence intensity than in the case of a single acceptor. The energy transfer efficiency will be higher with multiple acceptors if they are close enough to the donor, so you might be able to get somewhat more total acceptor fluorescence than you would with a single acceptor, particularly if the energy transfer efficiency to a single acceptor is relatively low.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Physical Sciences
- Physical Phenomena
- Luminescence
- Fluorescence