Clear evidence of fluorescence resonance energy transfer in gas-phase ions.
Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a distance-sensitive method that correlates changes in fluorescence intensity with conformational changes, for example, of biomolecules in the cellular environment. Applied to the gas phase in combination with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, it opens up possibilities to define structural/conformational properties of molecular ions, in the absence of solvent, and without the need for purification of the sample. For successfully observing FRET in the gas phase it is important to find suitable fluorophores. In this study several fluorescent dyes were examined, and the correlation between solution-phase and gas-phase fluorescence data were studied. For the first time, FRET in the gas phase is demonstrated unambiguously.
Dashtiev
Maxim
M
Department of Chemistry, ETH Honggerberg, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, HCI E 329, CH-8093, Zurich, Switzerland.
Azov
Vladimir
V
Department of Chemistry, ETH Honggerberg, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, HCI E 329, CH-8093, Zurich, Switzerland.
Frankevich
Vladimir
V
Department of Chemistry, ETH Honggerberg, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, HCI E 329, CH-8093, Zurich, Switzerland.
Scharfenberg
Ludwig
L
Department of Chemistry, ETH Honggerberg, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, HCI E 329, CH-8093, Zurich, Switzerland.
Zenobi
Renato
R
Department of Chemistry, ETH Honggerberg, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, HCI E 329, CH-8093, Zurich, Switzerland. zenobi@org.chem.ethz.ch.
D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer / Q000379:methods*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry*; D005740:Gases / Q000737:chemistry*; D007477:Ions; D044367:Phase Transition; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared / Q000379:methods*
D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D005740:Gases; D007477:Ions