Photonic DNA-chromophore nanowire networks: harnessing multiple supramolecular assembly modes

Photonic DNA nanostructures are typically prepared by the assembly of multiple sequences of long DNA strands that are conjugated covalently to various dye molecules. Herein we introduce a noncovalent method for the construction of porphyrin-containing DNA nanowires and their networks that uses the programmed assembly of a single, very short, oligodeoxyribonucleotide sequence. Specifically, our strategy exploits a number of supramolecular binding modalities (including DNA base-pairing, metal-ion coordination, and β-cyclodextrin-adamantane derived host-guest interactions) for simultaneous nanowire assembly and porphyrin incorporation. Furthermore, we also show that the resultant DNA-porphyrin assembly can be further functionalized with a complementary "off-the-shelf" DNA binding dye resulting in photonic structures with broadband absorption and energy transfer capabilities.