Water soluble poly(fluorene) homopolymers and copolymers for chemical and biological sensors

Abstract

Water soluble poly(fluorene) derivatives can serve as light harvesting materials that increase the signals of FRET-based homogenous and heterogeneous fluorescent assays. The molecular structure of the backbone is important to minimize losses due to photoinduced charge transfer. Signal generation involves coordination of electrostatic forces with efficient FRET. Targets that can be detected using these approaches include DNA, RNA, peptides, proteins, glucose, and small molecules.