Quantum Yield Measurements of Fluorophores in Lipid Bilayers Using a Plasmonic Nanocavity

Precise knowledge of the quantum yield is important for many fluorescence-spectroscopic techniques, for example, for Förster resonance energy transfer. However, to measure it for emitters in a complex environment and at low concentrations is far from being trivial. Using a plasmonic nanocavity, we measure the absolute quantum yield value of lipid-conjugated dyes incorporated into a supported lipid bilayer. We show that for both hydrophobic and hydrophilic molecules the quantum yield of dyes inside the lipid bilayer strongly differs from its value in aqueous solution. This finding is of particular importance for all fluorescence-spectroscopic studies involving lipid bilayers, such as protein-protein or protein-lipid interactions in membranes or direct fluorescence-spectroscopic measurements of membrane physical properties.