Fluorescence resonance energy transfer between phenanthrene and PAMAM dendrimers.
We describe herein an adsorption-induced energy transfer between phenanthrene, a major environmental pollutant, and a fluorescently labeled dendrimer acting as a host molecule. We find experimentally that such energy transfer is the most efficient at a solvent pH of 8 and for a phenanthrene:dendrimer molar ratio of 1:2. Using molecular dynamics simulations we show that the strongest binding interactions occur between phenanthrene and the primary amines of the dendrimer. The simulations provide evidence that at low pH, phenanthrene-phenanthrene interactions are favorable and compete with phenanthrene-dendrimer binding. This study offers a new scheme for detecting dendrimer molecular assembly and a physical basis for exploiting dendrimer nanotechnologies for water purification and environmental remediation.
Lard
Mercy
M
Department of Physics, Lund University, Solvegatan 14, S-223 62, Lund, Sweden.
Kim
Seung Ha
SH
Lin
Sijie
S
Bhattacharya
Priyanka
P
Ke
Pu Chun
PC
Lamm
Monica H
MH