BIo-Organics NanostructurIng for molecular electroniCS (BIONICS)
Abstract
This project will bring together molecular biology and chemistry to construct new hybrid bio-organic macromolecules and nanostructures based on DNA networks. Binding between two complementary DNA-strands is a flexible and programmable specific molecular recognition process that can be employed on a synthetic scale. Macromolecules, such as conjugated oligomers or dendrimers, can be synthesised to have reactive functionalisations at multiple locations and a defined spatial shape spanning from the nm to the ?m scale. We propose a rational protocol for the preparation of hybrid bio-organic building blocks serving as star-shaped “corner stones” in a DNA-based architecture. Control over the functional groups of the building blocks will enable programmed functional and structural changes to the assembled mesoscopic structures and will give access to planar or three-dimensional, linear, branched or reticulated structures. Space- and time-resolved fluorescence measurements on chromophore- containing architectures as well as scanning probe microscopy will grant insights into the physico-chemical properties of the building blocks and of the mesoscopic structures, necessary for the future development of new molecular (opto)electronic devices.
List of Partners
Dr. Klaus Müllen (Project Leader)
Max Planck Institut für Polymerforschung, Mainz, GermanyProfessor Frans C. de Schryver (Principal Investigator)
University of Leuven, Heverlee, BelgiumProfessor Richard H. Friend (Principal Investigator)
University of Cambridge, United KingdomProfessor Roeland Johannes Maria Nolte (Principal Investigator)University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Professor Bruno Samorì (Principal Investigator)
Università degli Studi di Bologna, ItalyDr. Paolo Samorì (Principal Investigator)
Istituto di Sintesi Organica e Fotoreattività, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Bologna, Italy
