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Journal Article

Photoswitchable semiconductor nanocrystals with self-regulating photochromic Förster resonance energy transfer acceptors.

MPS-Authors
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Diaz,  S. A.
Emeritus Group Laboratory of Cellular Dynamics, MPI for biophysical chemistry, Max Planck Society;

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Jovin,  T. M.
Emeritus Group Laboratory of Cellular Dynamics, MPI for biophysical chemistry, Max Planck Society;

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2086422.pdf
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2086422_Suppl.pdf
(Supplementary material), 9MB

Citation

Diaz, S. A., Gillanders, F., Jares-Erijman, E. A., & Jovin, T. M. (2015). Photoswitchable semiconductor nanocrystals with self-regulating photochromic Förster resonance energy transfer acceptors. Nature Communications, 6: 6036. doi:10.1038/ncomms7036.


Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-001M-0000-0024-AD5E-8
Abstract
Photoswitchable molecules and nanoparticles constitute superior biosensors for a wide range of industrial, research and biomedical applications. Rendered reversible by spontaneous or deterministic means, such probes facilitate many of the techniques in fluorescence microscopy that surpass the optical resolution dictated by diffraction. Here we have devised a family of photoswitchable quantum dots (psQDs) in which the semiconductor core functions as a fluorescence donor in Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), and multiple photochromic diheteroarylethene groups function as acceptors upon activation by ultraviolet light. The QDs were coated with a polymer bearing photochromic groups attached via linkers of different length. Despite the resulting nominal differences in donor–acceptor separation and anticipated FRET efficiencies, the maximum quenching of all psQD preparations was 38±2%. This result was attributable to the large ultraviolet absorption cross-section of the QDs, leading to preferential cycloreversion of photochromic groups situated closer to the nanoparticle surface and/or with a more favourable orientation.