Hierarchical self-assembly of nucleotide-appended oligopyrenotides into defined supramolecular objects

Supramolecular DNA assembly blends DNA building blocks with synthetic
organic molecules giving structural and functional advantages. Incorporating
extended aromatic molecules as connectors of DNA strands allows folding of
these strands through π-π stacking (DNA 'foldamers'). In previous work it was
shown that short oligopyrenotides behave as staircase-like foldamers, which
cooperatively self-assemble into 2D supramolecular polymers in aqueous
medium. Herein, we demonstrate that 10-mer DNA-sequence conjugated with
seven pyrene unites forms dimensionally-defined supramolecular polymers under
thermodynamic conditions in water. We present the self-assembly behavior,
morphologycal studies (AFM and TEM), and the spectroscopic properties
(UV/vis, CD) of the investigated pyrene - conjugated DNA-sequence.