We previously showed that 2,7-disubstituted phosphodiester-linked phenanthrene trimers self-assemble into tubular structures in aqueous medium.[1] Further it was shown that phenanthrene oligomers conjugated to DNA assemble into vesicles.[2] The DNA-phenanthrene conjugates presented here were also found to assemble into vesicular objects. Their morphology depends on the salt concentration and annealing conditions. The formed DNA-modified vesicles are investigated for functionalization by hybridization with Au nanoparticle-modified oligonucleotides. The vesicles were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).
