Incorporation of a europium(iii) complex in DNA–CTMA enhances red emission and induces circularly polarized luminescence.

DNA-based materials have attracted much attention due to their unique photo-functional properties and potential applications in various fields such as luminescent and biological systems, nanodevices, etc. In this study, the photophysical properties of a chiral Eu(III) complex, namely (Eu(D-facam)3), within DNA films were extensively investigated. The enhancement of photoluminescence (more than 25-folds increase of luminescence quantum yield) and degree of circularly polarization in luminescence (glum = − 0.6) was observed upon interaction with DNA. Various photophysical analyses suggested that the emission enhancement was mainly due to an increase of the sensitization efficiency (high ηsens) from the ligands to Eu(III) and suppression of the vibrational deactivation upon immobilization onto the DNA molecule. From CD and VCD measurements, it was suggested that the coordination structure of Eu(D-facam)3 was affected by the interaction with DNA, suggesting that the structural change of Eu(D-facam)3 contributed to the improvement of its luminescent properties.