Sensing metabolites using donor-acceptor nanodistributions in fluorescenceresonance energy transfer

Before fluorescence sensing techniques can be applied to media as delicate and complicated as human tissue, an adequate interpretation of the measured observables is required, i.e., an inverse problem needs to be solved. Rece ntly we have solved the inverse problem relating to the kinetics of fluores cence resonance energy transfer (FRET), which clears the way for the determ ination of the donor-acceptor distribution function in FRET assays. In this letter this approach to monitoring metabolic processes is highlighted and the application to glucose sensing demonstrated. (C) 2001 American Institut e of Physics.