TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Tobias A1 - Dietrich, Paul A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Multimode surface functional group determination: combining steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence with X‑ray photoelectron spectroscopy and absorption measurements for absolute quantification JF - Analytical Chemistry N2 - The quantitative determination of surface functional groups is approached in a straightforward laboratory-based method with high reliability. The application of a multimode BODIPY-type fluorescence, photometry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) label allows estimation of the labeling ratio, i.e., the ratio of functional groups carrying a label after reaction, from the elemental ratios of nitrogen and fluorine. The amount of label on the surface is quantified with UV/vis spectrophotometry based on the molar absorption coefficient as molecular property. The investigated surfaces with varying density are prepared by codeposition of 3-(aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) and cyanoethyltriethoxysilane (CETES) from vapor. These surfaces show high functional group densities that result in significant fluorescence quenching of surface-bound labels. Since alternative quantification of the label on the surface is available through XPS and photometry, a novel method to quantitatively account for fluorescence quenching based on fluorescence lifetime (τ) measurements is shown. Due to the complex distribution of τ on high-density surfaces, the stretched exponential (or Kohlrausch) function is required to determine representative mean lifetimes. The approach is extended to a commercial Rhodamine B isothiocyanate (RITC) label, clearly revealing the problems that arise from such charged labels used in conjunction with silane surfaces. KW - surface group quantification KW - fluorescence spectroscopy KW - absorption spectroscopy KW - X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy KW - dyes PY - 2016 DO - https://doi.org/DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.5b03468 SN - 0003-2700 VL - 88 IS - 2 SP - 1210 EP - 1217 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington, DC AN - OPUS4-35832 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -