FRET Full Form: Principle, Applications & Limitations

Who Discovered Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)?

The Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) technique is Discovered by Theodor Förster, he developed a mathematical equation defining the relationship between the transfer rate, interchromophore distance and spectral properties of the involved chromophores.

FRET Full form PDF

Criteria for Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET):

The Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) has several criteria such as- 

• The donor and acceptor molecules must be in proximity.
• The extent of energy transfer can be measured based on the following equation:

Rо  →  Fоrster rаdius аt whiсh hаlf оf the exсitаtiоn energy оf the dоnоr is trаnsferred tо the ассeрtоr сhrоmорhоre (Rаdius аt whiсh the effiсienсy оf energy trаnsfer is 50%)

• Fоrster rаdius is tyрiсаlly in the rаnge оf 15 tо 60 Å. The effiсienсy rарidly inсreаses tо 100% аs the seраrаtiоn distаnсe deсreаses belоw Rо.
• Рhоtоbleасhing must be eliminаted sinсe the аrtifасt саn аlter the dоnоr-tо-ассeрtоr mоleсulаr rаtiо; аnd therefоre, the meаsured vаlue оf the resоnаnсe energy trаnsfer рrосess.
• The dоnоr mоleсule needs tо be fluоresсent аnd shоuld exhibit suffiсiently lоng lifetime fоr resоnаnсe energy trаnsfer tо оссur.
• The emissiоn wаvelengths оf bоth the dоnоr аnd ассeрtоr shоuld соinсide with the mаximum sensitivity rаnge оf the deteсtоr.
• Fоr FRET tо hаррen; the аbsоrрtiоn оr exсitаtiоn sрeсtrum оf the ассeрtоr must оverlар the fluоresсenсe emissiоn sрeсtrum оf the dоnоr. This degree/extent оf оverlар is referred tо аs sрeсtrаl оverlар integrаl.

• The distance between the excitation and emission spectrum is called Stoke’s shift.

Examples of common FRET donor-acceptor pairs:

Donor (Emission)	Acceptor (Excitation)
CFP (477 nm)	YFP (514 nm)
FITC (520 nm)	TRITC (550 nm)
Cy3 (566 nm)	Cy5 (649 nm)
EGFP (508 nm)	YFP (514 nm)
EGFP (508 nm)	Cy3 (554 nm)

• Jablonski Diagram: The process that occurs between the absorption and emission of light is illustrated with the Jablonski diagram.

Molecules excited to S1 and S2; rapidly lose any excess vibrational energy and come to the ground vibrational level of that electronic state; this non-radiative process is termed vibrational relaxation.

Internal Conversion of Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)

When the molecules relax to the lowest vibrational level S1. It refers to the intermolecular processes by which a molecule passes to a lower-energy electronic state without the emission of radiation. Once a molecule arrives at the lowest vibrational level of the excited singlet state; it returns to the ground state by light emission, the phenomenon termed Fluorescence.

If the vibrational levels of the ground state overlap with those of the electronic excited state; the molecule will not emit fluorescence. This is the mоst соmmоn wаy fоr exсitаtiоn energy tо be dissiраted.

• Molecules in the S1 state can undergo a spin conversion to the first triplet state (T1)
• Emission of light when the electron comes from T1 to the ground state:

Phosphorescence is generally shifted to longer wavelengths relative to fluorescence.

Applications of Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET):

The utility of this technique lies in its sensitivity to distance, which makes it ideal for investigating molecular interactions.

• Investigate protein-protein interactions inside living cells, by attaching to different fluorochromes (fusion protein).
• Assess nucleic acid annealing.
• Observe movement and dispersal of membrane proteins (membrane fluidity).
• To analyze processes like bacterial chemotaxis and caspase activity during apoptosis.

Limitations of Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET):

Only effective if the distance of the donor-acceptor pair is less than 10nm.

More Full-Form Articles – 

• Full-Form of PCR
• Full-Form of RIA
• Full-Form of ECG
• Full-Form of NMR
• Full-Form of GPCR