Ultrasensitive detection of biomolecules with fluorescent dye-doped nanoparticles.
Fluorescent-labeled molecules have been used extensively for a wide range of applications in biological detection and diagnosis. A new form of highly luminescent and photostable nanoparticles was generated by doping the fluorescent dye tris(2'2-bipyridyl)dichlororuthenium(II)hexahydrate (Rubpy) inside silica material. Because thousands of fluorescent dye molecules are encapsulated in the silica matrix that also serves to protect Rubpy dye from photodamaging oxidation, the Rubpy-dye-doped nanoparticles are extremely bright and photostable. We have used these nanoparticles successfully in various fluorescence labeling techniques, including fluorescent-linked immunosorbent assay, immunocytochemistry, immunohistochemistry, DNA microarray, and protein microarray. By combining the high-intensity luminescent nanoparticles with the specificity of antibody-mediated recognition, ultrasensitive target detection has been achieved. In all cases, assay results clearly demonstrated the superiority of the nanoparticles over organic fluorescent dye molecules and quantum dots in probe labeling for sensitive target detection. These results demonstrate the potential to apply these newly developed fluorescent nanoparticles in various biodetection systems.
Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
Wei
W
Lian
Sally A
SA
Litherland
Hassan
H
Badrane
Weihong
W
Tan
Donghai
D
Wu
Henry V
HV
Baker
Paul A
PA
Gulig
Daniel V
DV
Lim
Shouguang
S
Jin
D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D015336:Molecular Probe Techniques; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D040081:Protein Array Analysis; D012822:Silicon Dioxide
D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D012822:Silicon Dioxide