Biological Applications of Supramolecular Assemblies Designed for Excitation Energy Transfer

Abstract

Spatial organization of chromophores is of crucial importance in governing energy-transfer processes and hence the performance of devices that exploit such energy flows. Studying EET processes in systems with the donor and acceptor connected by covalent bonds has provided most of the fundamental advances in this field. 14,16 However, with the evolution of energy-transfer systems toward increasingly large, sophisticated donor−acceptor assemblies, the reliance on covalent linking becomes increasingly untenable. 17 Noncovalent interactions, including van der Waals, hydrophobic, π−π, dipole, and metal ligation, may provide limitless possibilities to construct self-assembled architectures for various applications without time-consuming synthesis. 18 Indeed, nature relies to a large extent on such noncovalent interactions to perform a variety of sophisticated biological functions. The best-known examples include protein

Surface-Cross-Linked Micelles as Multifunctionalized Organic Nanoparticles for Controlled Release, Light Harvesting, and Catalysis

“…39 The fluorescence quantum yield of DPA-SCM was 0.80 in THF, only slightly lower than that of the monomer (0.90). One possible reason for the high quantum yield of DPA-SCM was the nonplanarity of DPA because of the 9,10-diaryl substitution that prevented chromophore stacking.…”

BODIPY–Bacteriochlorin Energy Transfer Arrays: Toward Near-IR Emitters with Broadly Tunable, Multiple Absorption Bands

“…8–12 In regards to energy-related applications, such arrays are used for the development of panchromatic absorbers, capable of harvesting light at multiple wavelengths and transferring the excited state energy to the designated site. 1–7 For biomedical applications, such arrays are utilized, for example, for construction of fluorophores with tunable pseudo-Stokes shift, or fluorophores with multiple excitation wavelengths.…”

“…1–7 For biomedical applications, such arrays are utilized, for example, for construction of fluorophores with tunable pseudo-Stokes shift, or fluorophores with multiple excitation wavelengths. 8–11 …”

Supramolecular FRET modulation by pseudorotaxane formation of a ditopic stilbazolium dye and carboxylato-pillar[5]arene

“…FRET is widely used in fluorescence sensing and imaging, utilizing the inherent advantage of ratiometric measurements [4][5][6]. FRET-related techniques are particularly important in biomedical research, exploiting that FRET is sensitive in the 1-10 nm distance range that matches the dimensions of proteins, polynucleotides, or the thickness of cell membranes [7][8][9]. FRET is also popular in the design of chemical sensors, in which the modulation of FRET is achieved by a chemical reaction: the analyte binds covalently or coordinatively to the sensor, induces the splitting of a chemical bond in their donor/acceptor units or induces the cleavage of the donoracceptor bond [10,11].…”