文摘
We have developed a novel approach for simple and convenient detection of ligand-receptorinteractions with high sensitivity and selectivity. The method harnesses a reversiblefluorescence quenching between nonfluorescent polyelectrolyte quenchers and fluorescentprobes tagged to ligands. Formation of more strongly bound ligand-receptor complexes forcesthe breakup of nonspecific, electrostatic interaction-based quencher/probe pairs to reversethe fluorescence quenching, triggering a fluorescence increase, and providing an off-to-ondetection of the ligand/receptor interaction. Although a conjugated polyelectrolyte was usedin the study, other nonconjugated polyelectrolyte quenchers are expected to work as well.The method should potentially find a wide variety of applications in several areas, rangingfrom drug screening, medical diagnostics, and biosensing to assay development.
