Abstract
Disparate presentations in the literature of the basic equations of Förster’s theory of resonance energy transfer are clarified and the limitations of these equations are discussed.
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Comment by Prof. W. van der Meer, Kentucky: FRET is now an abbreviation that is almost as established as NMR. Soon, nobody will say Förster Resonance Energy Transfer or Fluorescence with Resonance Energy Transfer anymore. We will all call it simply FRET. Let’s not forget, however, that there is a didactic aspect here: future spectroscopists must understand what FRET involves, and when they will be exposed to FRET for the first time, the explanation of the acronym helps to understand the principles involved. The only problem is that Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer is misleading in that it suggests that Fluorescence is transferred, and that is not correct. Fluorescence serves to detect the phenomenon. I have proposed to solve this problem by inserting a virtually silent “with”. Fluorescence with Resonance Energy Transfer is, in my opinion, the best name for FRET, because it is both descriptive and correct. Braslavsky et al. state that Fluorescence is not involved in Resonance Energy Transfer. However, Fluorescence is almost always used to detect it. They also point out that Förster’s theory is applicable to donor-acceptor pairs undergoing triplet-singlet energy transfer. Perhaps it is an idea to use the name Förster Resonance Energy Transfer in situations where it is not clear Fluorescence is used. I propose to use the name Fluorescence with Resonance Energy Transfer for all cases where there is Resonance Energy Transfer and Fluorescence is used to measure it.
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This paper was published as part of the themed issue in honour of Nicholas Turro.
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Braslavsky, S.E., Fron, E., Rodríguez, H.B. et al. Pitfalls and limitations in the practical use of Förster’s theory of resonance energy transfer. Photochem Photobiol Sci 7, 1444–1448 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1039/b810620g
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/b810620g