Reported herein is the development of non-covalent, proximity-induced energy transfer from small-molecule toxicants to organic fluorophores bound in the cavity of γ-cyclodextrin. This energy transfer occurs with exceptional efficiency for a broad range of toxicants in complex biological media, and is largely independent of the spectral overlap between the donor and acceptor. This generally applicable phenomenon has significant potential in the development of new turn-on detection schemes.

Reported herein is the use of γ-cyclodextrin for two tandem functions: (a) the extraction of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from oil samples into aqueous solution, and (b) the promotion of highly efficient energy transfer from the newly extracted PAHs to a high-quantum yield fluorophore. The extraction proceeded in moderate to good efficiencies, and the resulting cyclodextrin-promoted energy transfer lead to a new, brightly fluorescent signal in the aqueous solution. The resulting dual-function system (extraction followed by energy transfer) has significant relevance in the environmental detection and cleanup of oil spill-related carcinogens.2 Introduction:

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