Enabling Light Work in Helical Self-Assembly for Dynamic Amplification of Chirality with Photoreversibility

J Am Chem Soc. 2016 Feb 24;138(7):2219-24. doi: 10.1021/jacs.5b11580. Epub 2016 Jan 12.

Abstract

Light-driven transcription and replication are always subordinate to a delicate chirality transfer. Enabling light work in construction of the helical self-assembly with reversible chiral transformation becomes attractive. Herein we demonstrate that a helical hydrogen-bonded self-assembly is reversibly photoswitched between photochromic open and closed forms upon irradiation with alternative UV and visible light, in which molecular chirality is amplified with the formation of helixes at supramolecular level. The characteristics in these superhelixes such as left-handed or right-handed twist and helical length, height, and pitch are revealed by SEM and AFM. The helical photoswitchable nanostructure provides an easily accessible route to an unprecedented photoreversible modulation in morphology, fluorescence, and helicity, with precise assembly/disassembly architectures similar to biological systems such as protein and DNA.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • DNA / chemistry
  • Ethylenes / chemical synthesis*
  • Ethylenes / chemistry
  • Hydrogen Bonding
  • Light*
  • Macromolecular Substances / chemical synthesis
  • Macromolecular Substances / chemistry
  • Molecular Structure
  • Photochemical Processes*
  • Proteins / chemistry
  • Stereoisomerism
  • Ultraviolet Rays*

Substances

  • Ethylenes
  • Macromolecular Substances
  • Proteins
  • DNA