Cyclodextrin-promoted energy transfer for broadly applicable small-molecule detection

Abstract

Reported herein is the development of non-covalent, proximity-induced energy transfer from small-molecule toxicants to organic fluorophores bound in the cavity of γ-cyclodextrin. This energy transfer occurs with exceptional efficiency for a broad range of toxicants in complex biological media, and is largely independent of the spectral overlap between the donor and acceptor. This generally applicable phenomenon has significant potential in the development of new turn-on detection schemes.

Keywords::

• cyclodextrin
• fluorescence spectroscopy
• energy transfer

Acknowledgements

Funding is acknowledged from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative and from the University of Rhode Island Council for Research Proposal Development Grant.