Spectro-temporal optical encoding of information using a time-gated fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9752986-B2
Application number	US-201313911157-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 6, 2013
Priority date	May 18, 2012
Publication date	Sep 5, 2017
Grant date	Sep 5, 2017

Abstract

Described herein is a time-gated, two-step FRET relay effective to provide temporal transference of a prompt FRET pathway, or provide spectro-temporal encoding analytical signals and other information. A FRET relay assembly includes a long lifetime FRET donor (for example, a lanthanide complex), a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) configured as an intermediate acceptor/donor in FRET, and a fluorescent dye configured as a terminal FRET acceptor, wherein the long lifetime FRET donor has an excited state lifetime of at least one microsecond and the QD and fluorescent dye each have excited state lifetimes of less than 100 nanoseconds.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of using a FRET relay assembly, the method comprising:
providing a FRET relay assembly comprising:
a long lifetime FRET donor,
a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) configured as an intermediate acceptor/donor in FRET and assembled to the long lifetime FRET donor in sufficient proximity thereto so as to allow for a first FRET process between the long lifetime FRET donor and the QD and
a fluorescent dye configured as a terminal FRET acceptor and assembled to the QD in sufficient proximity thereto so as to allow for a second FRET process between the QD and the fluorescent dye,
wherein the long lifetime FRET donor has an excited state lifetime of at least one microsecond and the QD and fluorescent dye each have excited state lifetimes of less than 100 nanoseconds;

spectrally exciting the FRET relay assembly; and
receiving a spectral emission from the FRET relay assembly.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least two distinct FRET relay assemblies are provided.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein spectral emissions are received in observation windows 0-250 ns and 55-1055 μs after said spectrally exciting.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said long lifetime FRET donor comprises Tb 3+ , Eu 3+ , Sm 3+ , Tm 3+ , or Ru 2+ .

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said long lifetime FRET donor and/or said fluorescent dye are bound to said QD using peptides and/or oligonucleotides.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one His 6 motif is adapted to bind said long lifetime FRET donor and/or said fluorescent dye to said QD.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the QD is functionalized with carboxylate, amine, or poly(ethylene glycol).

Assignees

• Algar W Russ
• Hildebrandt Niko
• Huston Alan L
• Medintz Igor L
• Us Navy

Inventors

• Algar W Russ
• Hildebrandt Niko
• Huston Alan L
• Medintz Igor L

Classifications

• B82Y20/00

  Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals · CPC title

• B82Y15/00

  Nanotechnology for interacting, sensing or actuating, e.g. quantum dots as markers in protein assays or molecular motors · CPC title

• G01N2021/6441

  with two or more labels · CPC title

• G01N21/6408

  with measurement of decay time, time resolved fluorescence · CPC title

• G01N21/6486 Primary

  Measuring fluorescence of biological material, e.g. DNA, RNA, cells (G01N21/6428 takes precedence) · CPC title