scholarly journals Energy Transfer between Tm-Doped Upconverting Nanoparticles and a Small Organic Dye with Large Stokes Shift

Biosensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna López de Guereñu ◽  
Philipp Bastian ◽  
Pablo Wessig ◽  
Leonard John ◽  
Michael U. Kumke
Keyword(s):  
Energy Transfer ◽  
Stokes Shift ◽  
Resonance Energy Transfer ◽  
Resonance Energy ◽  
Photoluminescence Properties ◽  
Decay Kinetics ◽  
Transfer Processes ◽  
Surface Quenching ◽  
Low Toxicity ◽  
Ion Emission

Lanthanide-doped upconverting nanoparticles (UCNP) are being extensively studied for bioapplications due to their unique photoluminescence properties and low toxicity. Interest in RET applications involving UCNP is also increasing, but due to factors such as large sizes, ion emission distributions within the particles, and complicated energy transfer processes within the UCNP, there are still many questions to be answered. In this study, four types of core and core-shell NaYF4-based UCNP co-doped with Yb3+ and Tm3+ as sensitizer and activator, respectively, were investigated as donors for the Methyl 5-(8-decanoylbenzo[1,2-d:4,5-d′]bis([1,3]dioxole)-4-yl)-5-oxopentanoate (DBD-6) dye. The possibility of resonance energy transfer (RET) between UCNP and the DBD-6 attached to their surface was demonstrated based on the comparison of luminescence intensities, band ratios, and decay kinetics. The architecture of UCNP influenced both the luminescence properties and the energy transfer to the dye: UCNP with an inert shell were the brightest, but their RET efficiency was the lowest (17%). Nanoparticles with Tm3+ only in the shell have revealed the highest RET efficiencies (up to 51%) despite the compromised luminescence due to surface quenching.

scholarly journals Bioluminescence-Based Energy Transfer Using Semiconductor Quantum Dots as Acceptors

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 2909 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anirban Samanta ◽  
Igor L. Medintz
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Dots ◽  
Energy Transfer ◽  
Organic Dyes ◽  
Stokes Shift ◽  
Resonance Energy Transfer ◽  
Fluorescence Emission ◽  
Resonance Energy ◽  
Semiconductor Quantum Dots ◽  
Renilla Luciferase ◽  
Bioluminescent Protein

Bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) is the non-radiative transfer of energy from a bioluminescent protein donor to a fluorophore acceptor. It shares all the formalism of Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) but differs in one key aspect: that the excited donor here is produced by biochemical means and not by an external illumination. Often the choice of BRET source is the bioluminescent protein Renilla luciferase, which catalyzes the oxidation of a substrate, typically coelenterazine, producing an oxidized product in its electronic excited state that, in turn, couples with a proximal fluorophore resulting in a fluorescence emission from the acceptor. The acceptors pertinent to this discussion are semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), which offer some unrivalled photophysical properties. Amongst other advantages, the QD’s large Stokes shift is particularly advantageous as it allows easy and accurate deconstruction of acceptor signal, which is difficult to attain using organic dyes or fluorescent proteins. QD-BRET systems are gaining popularity in non-invasive bioimaging and as probes for biosensing as they don’t require external optical illumination, which dramatically improves the signal-to-noise ratio by avoiding background auto-fluorescence. Despite the additional advantages such systems offer, there are challenges lying ahead that need to be addressed before they are utilized for translational types of research.

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