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Author Spotlight: Advancing SERS Technology: Au@Carbon Dot Nanoprobes for Label-Free Analysis and Imaging
Published on: June 9, 2023
Trans-membrane Fluorescence Enhancement by Carbon Dots: Ionic Interactions and Energy Transfer
Stefanie D Pritzl1,2, Fernando Pschunder3, Florian Ehrat1,2
1Chair for Photonics and Optoelectronics, Nano-Institute Munich, Department of Physics , Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) , Königinstraße 10 , 80539 Munich , Germany.
Abstract:
We report on trans-membrane interactions between blue-emitting carbon dots (CDs) and fluorescein. Hydrophobic CDs with a positive surface charge are embedded as-synthesized in the lipophilic sheet of the bilayer membrane of large synthetic phospholipid vesicles. The vesicles are prepared by mixing DOPC phospholipids and lipid molecules that contain anionic fluorescein attached to their hydrophilic head. Due to attractive electrostatic interactions, the CDs and fluorescein conjoin within the vesicle membrane, which leads to photoluminescence enhancement of fluorescein and facilitates trans-membrane energy transfer between the CDs and the dye.
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