title: A competitive displacement assay with quantum dots as fluorescence resonance energy transfer donors.
abstract: The unique optoelectronic properties of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) make them well-suited as fluorescent bioprobes for use in various biological applications. Modification of CdSe/ZnS QDs with biologically relevant molecules provides for multipotent probes that can be used for cellular labeling, bioassays, and localized optical interrogation by means of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). Herein, we demonstrate the use of red-emitting streptavidin-coated QDs (QD(605)) as donors in FRET to introduce a competitive displacement-based assay for the detection of oligonucleotides. Various QD-DNA bioconjugates featuring 25-mer probe sequences diagnostic of Hsp23 were prepared. The single-stranded oligonucleotide probes were hybridized to dye-labeled (Alexa Fluor 647) reporter sequences, which were provided for a FRET-sensitized emission signal due to proximity of the QD and dye. The dye-labeled sequence was designed to be partially complementary and include base-pair mismatches to facilitate displacement by a more energetically favorable, fully complementary recognition motif embedded within a 98-mer displacer sequence. Overall, this study demonstrates proof-of-concept at the nM level for competitive displacement hybridization assays in vitro by reduction of fluorescence intensity that directly correlates to the presence of oligonucleotides of interest. This work demonstrates an analytical method that could potentially be implemented for monitoring of intracellular gene expression in the future.
authors.affiliation: Chemical Sensors Group, Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Rd. North, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada.
authors.forename: Charles H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Vannoy
authors.forename: Lori
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.forename: Connie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Le
authors.forename: Ulrich J
authors.initials: UJ
authors.lastname: Krull
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002232:Carbocyanines / Q000737:chemistry; D015342:DNA Probes / Q000737:chemistry*; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer / Q000379:methods*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization / Q000379:methods*; D009841:Oligonucleotides / Q000032:analysis*; D045663:Quantum Dots; D019809:Streptavidin / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: C569686:Alexa Fluor 647; D002232:Carbocyanines; D015342:DNA Probes; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; C105998:Hsp23 protein, Drosophila; D009841:Oligonucleotides; D019809:Streptavidin