Magnetic Separation-Assistant Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer Inhibition for Highly Sensitive Probing of Nucleolin

For the widely used “off-on” fluorescence (or phosphorescence) resonance energy transfer (FRET or PRET) system, the separation of donors and acceptors species was vital for enhancing the sensitivity. To date, separation of free donors from FRET/PRET inhibition systems was somewhat not convenient, whereas separation of the target-induced far-between acceptors has hardly been reported yet. We presented here a novel magnetic separation-assistant fluorescence resonance energy transfer (MS-FRET) inhibition strategy for highly sensitive detection of nucleolin using Cy5.5-AS1411 as the donor and Fe3O4-polypyrrole core–shell (Fe3O4@PPY) nanoparticles as the NIR quenching acceptor. Due to hydrophobic interaction and π–π stacking of AS1411 and PPY, Cy5.5-AS1411 was bound onto the surface of Fe3O4@PPY, resulting in 90% of fluorescence quenching of Cy5.5-AS1411. Owing to the much stronger specific interaction of AS1411 and nucleolin, the presence of nucleolin could take Cy5.5-AS1411 apart from Fe3O4@PPY and restore t...