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Updated: Feb 2, 2026

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality
Published on: March 11, 2022
Helical Nanostructures: Chirality Transfer and a Photodriven Transformation from Superhelix to Nanokebab
Hejin Jiang1,2, Yuqian Jiang3, Jianlei Han3
1National Laboratory for Molecular Science (BNLMS), CAS Laboratory of Colloid, Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
Abstract:
Photosensitive cinnamic acid conjugated glutamides were designed to demonstrate photocontrolled hierarchical chirality transfer and switching in self-assembled systems. In methanol, the cinnamic acid derivatives self-assembled into superhelices, which could be switched into nanokebabs upon UV irradiation. These two nanostructures showed opposite helicity. The chiral nanostructures could further convey their chirality to achiral fluorescent molecules and result in the emission of circularly polarized luminescence (CPL). Remarkably, the CPL followed the helicity of the chiral nanostructure rather than the inherent molecular chirality. Photodriven dimerization of the cinnamic moiety lead to a significant change in molecular packing and subsequent switching of the helicity of the formed nanostructures.
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