Solvent and substituent effects on aggregation constants of perylene bisimide π-stacks--a linear free energy relationship analysis

Supramolecular aggregates with distinct optical properties from PDI oligomers of similar structures

Perylenediimide oligomers comprising different linkers exhibit J- and H-aggregates, which is proposed to arise from subtle supramolecular structure differences.

Strategies to create hierarchical self-assembled structures via cooperative non-covalent interactions

Cooperative phenomena are common processes involved in the hierarchical self-assembly of multiple systems in nature, such as the tobacco mosaic virus and a cell's cytoskeleton. Motivated by the high degree of order exhibited by these systems, a great deal of effort has been devoted in the past two decades to design hierarchical supramolecular polymers by combining different classes of cooperative interactions. In this review, we have classified the field of supramolecular polymers depending on the cooperative non-covalent forces driving their formation, with particular emphasis on recent examples from literature. We believe that this overview would help scientists in the field to design novel self-assembled systems with improved complexity and functionalities.

Synthesis and Evaluation of 131I-Skyrin as a Necrosis Avid Agent for Potential Targeted Radionuclide Therapy of Solid Tumors

An innovative anticancer approach targeted to necrotic tissues, which serves as a noncancerous and generic anchor, may present a breakthrough. Necrosis avid agents with a flat conjugate aromatic structure selectively accumulate in necrotic tissues, but they easily form aggregates that undesirably distribute to normal tissues. In this study, skyrin, a dianthraquinone compound with smaller and distorted π-cores and thus decreased aggregates as compared with hypericin (Hyp), was designed to target necrosis for tumor therapy. Aggregation studies of skyrin by UV/vis spectroscopy showed a smaller self-association constant with skyrin than with Hyp. Skyrin was labeled by iodine-131 with a radiochemical purity of 98% and exhibited good stability in rat serum for 72 h. In vitro cell uptake studies showed significant difference in the uptake of ¹³¹I-skyrin by necrotic cells compared to normal cells (P < 0.05). Compared in rats with liver and muscle necrosis, radiobiodistribution, whole-body autoradiography, and SPECT/CT studies revealed higher accumulation of ¹³¹I-skyrin in necrotic liver and muscle (p < 0.05), but lower uptake in normal organs, relative to that of ¹³¹I-Hyp. In mice bearing H22 tumor xenografts treated with combretastatin A4 disodium phosphate, the highest uptake of ¹³¹I-skyrin was found in necrotic tumor. In conclusion, ¹³¹I-skyrin appears a promising agent with reduced accumulation in nontarget organs for targeted radionuclide therapy of solid tumors.

Synthesis and Preclinical Evaluation of Radioiodinated Hypericin Dicarboxylic Acid as a Necrosis Avid Agent in Rat Models of Induced Hepatic, Muscular, and Myocardial Necroses

Myocardial infarction (MI) leads to substantial morbidity and mortality around the world. Accurate assessment of myocardial viability is essential to assist therapies and improve patient outcomes. (131)I-hypericin dicarboxylic acid ((131)I-HDA) was synthesized and evaluated as a potential diagnostic agent for earlier assessment of myocardium viability compared to its preceding counterpart (131)I-hypericin ((131)I-Hyp) with strong hydrophobic property, long plasma half-life, and high uptake in mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS). Herein, HDA was synthesized and characterized, and self-aggregation constant Kα was analyzed by spectrophotometry. Plasma half-life was determined in healthy rats by γ-counting. (131)I-HDA and (131)I-Hyp were prepared with iodogen as oxidant. In vitro necrosis avidity of (131)I-HDA and (131)I-Hyp was evaluated in necrotic cells induced by hyperthermia. Biodistribution was determined in rat models of induced necrosis using γ-counting, autoradiography, and histopathology. Earlier imaging of necrotic myocardium to assess myocardial viability was performed in rat models of reperfused myocardium infarction using single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT). As a result, the self-aggregation constant Kα of HDA was lower than that of Hyp (105602 vs 194644, p < 0.01). (131)I-HDA displayed a shorter blood half-life compared with (131)I-Hyp (9.21 vs 31.20 h, p < 0.01). The necrotic-viable ratio in cells was higher with (131)I-HDA relative to that with (131)I-Hyp (5.48 vs 4.63, p < 0.05). (131)I-HDA showed a higher necrotic-viable myocardium ratio (7.32 vs 3.20, p < 0.01), necrotic myocardium-blood ratio (3.34 vs 1.74, p < 0.05), and necrotic myocardium-lung ratio (3.09 vs 0.61, p < 0.01) compared with (131)I-Hyp. (131)I-HDA achieved imaging of necrotic myocardium at 6 h postinjection (p.i.) with SPECT/CT, earlier than what (131)I-Hyp did. Therefore, (131)I-HDA may serve as a promising necrosis-avid diagnostic agent for earlier imaging of necrotic myocardium compared with (131)I-Hyp. This may support further development of radiopharmaceuticals ((123)I and (99m)Tc) based on HDA for SPECT/CT of necrotic myocardium.

Anti-cooperative supramolecular polymerization: a new K2-K model applied to the self-assembly of perylene bisimide dye proceeding via well-defined hydrogen-bonded dimers

A new perylene bisimide dye self-assembles in an anti-cooperative process predominently into even numbered aggregates via dimers which could be interpreted by a newly developed K₂–K model.

A perylene bisimide dye bearing amide functionalities at the imide positions derived from amino acid l-alanine and a dialkoxy-substituted benzyl amine self-assembles into tightly bound dimers by π–π-stacking and hydrogen bonding in chloroform. In less polar or unpolar solvents like toluene and methylcyclohexane, and in their mixtures, these dimers further self-assemble into extended oligomeric aggregates in an anti-cooperative process in which even numbered aggregates are highly favoured. The stepwise transition from dimers into oligomers can not be properly described by conventional K₂–K model, and thus a new K₂–K aggregation model has been developed, which interpretes the present anti-cooperative supramolecular polymerization more appropriately. The newly developed K₂–K model will be useful to describe self-assembly processes of a plethora of other π-conjugated molecules that are characterized by a favored dimer species.

Aromatic donor-acceptor interactions in non-polar environments

We have evaluated the strength of aromatic donor-acceptor interactions between dialkyl naphthalenediimide and dialkoxynaphthalene in non-polar environments. (1)H NMR, UV-vis spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry were used to characterise this interaction. We concluded that the strength of donor-acceptor interactions in heptane is sufficient to drive supramolecular assemblies in this and other aliphatic solvents.

Aggregation-induced fabrication of fluorescent organic nanorings: selective biosensing of cysteine and application to molecular logic gate

Self-aggregation behavior in aqueous medium of four naphthalimide derivatives has exhibited substitution-dependent, unusual, aggregation induced emission enhancement (AIEE) phenomena. Absorption, emission, and time-resolved study initially indicated the formation of J-type fluorescent organic nanoaggregates (FONs). Simultaneous applications of infrared spectroscopy, theoretical studies, and dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements explored the underlying mechanism of such substitution-selective aggregation of a chloro-naphthalimide organic molecule. Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) visually confirmed the formation of ring like FONs with average size of 7.5-9.5 nm. Additionally, naphthalimide FONs also exhibited selective and specific cysteine amino acid sensing property. The specific behavior of NPCl aggregation toward amino acids was also employed as a molecular logic gate in information technology (IT).

Supramolecular block copolymers by kinetically controlled co-self-assembly of planar and core-twisted perylene bisimides

New synthetic methodologies for the formation of block copolymers have revolutionized polymer science within the last two decades. However, the formation of supramolecular block copolymers composed of alternating sequences of larger block segments has not been realized yet. Here we show by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), 2D NMR and optical spectroscopy that two different perylene bisimide dyes bearing either a flat (A) or a twisted (B) core self-assemble in water into supramolecular block copolymers with an alternating sequence of (A_mBB)_n. The highly defined ultralong nanowire structure of these supramolecular copolymers is entirely different from those formed upon self-assembly of the individual counterparts, that is, stiff nanorods (A) and irregular nanoworms (B), respectively. Our studies further reveal that the as-formed supramolecular block copolymer constitutes a kinetic self-assembly product that transforms into thermodynamically more stable self-sorted homopolymers upon heating.

Block co-polymers are becoming of ever-increasing importance in polymer science. Here, the authors show that the co-assembly of two perylene bisimide dyes leads to supramolecular block copolymer structures with a regular alternating sequence of short blocks of respective homoaggregates.

Mechanism of self-assembly process and seeded supramolecular polymerization of perylene bisimide organogelator

The mechanism of supramolecular polymerization has been elucidated for an archetype organogelator molecule composed of a perylene bisimide aromatic scaffold and two amide substituents. This molecule self-assembles into elongated one-dimensional nanofibers through a cooperative nucleation-growth process. Thermodynamic and kinetic analyses have been applied to discover conditions (temperature, solvent, concentration) where the spontaneous nucleation can be retarded by trapping of the monomers in an inactive conformation, leading to lag times up to more than 1 h. The unique kinetics in the nucleation process was confirmed as a thermal hysteresis in a cycle of assembly and disassembly processes. Under appropriate conditions within the hysteresis loop, addition of preassembled nanofiber seeds leads to seeded polymerization from the termini of the seeds in a living supramolecular polymerization process. These results demonstrate that seeded polymerizations are not limited to special situations where off-pathway aggregates sequester the monomeric reactant species but may be applicable to a large number of known and to be developed molecules from the large family of molecules that self-assemble into one-dimensional nanofibrous structures. Generalizing from the mechanistic insight into our seeded polymerization, we assert that a cooperative nucleation-growth supramolecular polymerization accompanied by thermal hysteresis can be controlled in a living manner.

Chiral perylene diimides: building blocks for ionic self-assembly

A chiral perylene diimide building block has been prepared based on an amine derivative of the amino acid l‐phenylalanine. Detailed studies were carried out into the self‐assembly behaviour of the material in solution and the solid state using UV/Vis, circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence spectroscopy. For the charged building block BTPPP, the molecular chirality of the side chains is translated into the chiral supramolecular structure in the form of right‐handed helical aggregates in aqueous solution. Temperature‐dependent UV/Vis studies of BTPPP in aqueous solution showed that the self‐assembly behaviour of this dye can be well described by an isodesmic model in which aggregation occurs to generate short stacks in a reversible manner. Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction studies (WXRD) revealed that this material self‐organises into aggregates with π–π stacking distances typical for π‐conjugated materials. TEM investigations revealed the formation of self‐assembled structures of low order and with no expression of chirality evident. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarised optical microscopy (POM) were used to investigate the mesophase properties. Optical textures representative of columnar liquid–crystalline phases were observed for solvent‐annealed samples of BTPPP. The high solubility, tunable self‐assembly and chiral ordering of these materials demonstrate their potential as new molecular building blocks for use in the construction of chiro‐optical structures and devices.

Halochromic and hydrochromic squaric acid functionalized perylene bisimide

A squaric acid functionalized perylene bisimide senses solvent polarity, pH and humidity through the intramolecular charge transfer initiated by protonation/deprotonation.

Photoinduced electron transfer (PET) versus excimer formation in supramolecular p/n-heterojunctions of perylene bisimide dyes and implications for organic photovoltaics

Foldamer systems comprised of two perylene bisimide (PBI) dyes attached to the conjugated backbones of 1,2-bis(phenylethynyl)benzene and phenylethynyl-bis(phenylene)indane, respectively, were synthesized and investigated with regard to their solvent-dependent properties. UV/Vis absorption and steady-state fluorescence spectra show that both foldamers exist predominantly in a folded H-aggregated state consisting of π–π-stacked PBIs in THF and in more random conformations with weaker excitonic coupling between the PBIs in chloroform. Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy and transient absorption spectroscopy reveal entirely different relaxation pathways for the photoexcited molecules in the given solvents, i.e. photoinduced electron transfer leading to charge separated states for the open conformations (in chloroform) and relaxation into excimer states with red-shifted emission for the stacked conformations (in THF). Supported by redox data from cyclic voltammetry and Rehm–Weller analysis we could relate the processes occurring in these solution-phase model systems to the elementary processes in organic solar cells. Accordingly, only if relaxation pathways such as excimer formation are strictly avoided in molecular semiconductor materials, excitons may diffuse over larger distances to the heterojunction interface and produce photocurrent via the formation of electron/hole pairs by photoinduced electron transfer.

Surface-promoted aggregation of amphiphilic quadruplex ligands drives their selectivity for alternative DNA structures

The surface-promoted aggregation of a structurally fine-tuned TMPyP4 derivative allows for the straightforward visualization of the quadruplex/ligand interactionsviahigh-speed AFM.

Semiconducting polymer encapsulated mesoporous silica particles with conjugated Europium complexes: toward enhanced luminescence under aqueous conditions

Immobilization of lanthanide organic complexes in meso-organized hybrid materials for luminescence applications have attracted immense interest due to the possibility of controlled segregation at the nanoscopic level for novel optical properties. Aimed at enhancing the luminescence intensity and stability of the hybrid materials in aqueous media, we developed polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) stabilized, semiconducting polymer (poly(9-vinylcarbazole), PVK) encapsulated mesoporous silica hybrid particles grafted with Europium(III) complexes. Monosilylated β-diketonate ligands (1-(2-naphthoyl)-3,3,3-trifluoroacetonate, NTA) were first co-condensed in the mesoporous silica particles as pendent groups for bridging and anchoring the lanthanide complexes, resulting in particles with an mean diameter of ∼ 450 nm and a bimodal pore size distribution centered at 3.5 and 5.3 nm. PVK was encapsulated on the resulted particles by a solvent-induced surface precipitation process, in order to seal the mesopores and protect Europium ions from luminescence quenching by producing a hydrophobic environment. The obtained polymer encapsulated MSN-EuLC@PVK-PVP particles exhibit significantly higher intrinsic quantum yield (Φ(Ln) = 39%) and longer lifetime (τ(obs) = 0.51 ms), as compared with those without polymer encapsulation. Most importantly, a high luminescence stability was realized when MSN-EuLC@PVK-PVP particles were dispersed in various aqueous media, showing no noticeable quenching effect. The beneficial features and positive attributes of both mesoporous silica and semiconducting polymers as lanthanide-complex host were merged in a single hybrid carrier, opening up the possibility of using these hybrid luminescent materials under complex aqueous conditions such as biological/physiological environments.

Spectroscopic Demonstration of Exciton Dynamics and Excimer Formation in a Sterically Controlled Perylene Bisimide Dimer Aggregate

Although it is commonly known that H-type PBI aggregates give rise to a broad, red-shifted excimer fluorescence with considerably longer fluorescence lifetimes than observed for the monomers, the underlying mechanisms of excimer formation and other relevant exciton dynamics in such π-stacked systems are still far from being understood. In this context, we demonstrate a thorough spectroscopic investigation on the exciton relaxation pathways, including excimer formation, in a perylene-3,4:9,10-bis(dicarboximide) (PBI) dimer aggregate 1 by using time-resolved fluorescence and transient absorption spectroscopy combined with excitation-power and polarization dependence. It was found that the excited dimer formation process followed by structural rearrangement is approximately two times faster than observed within larger PBI aggregates. Excitation-power-dependent transient absorption decay profiles revealed the fully delocalized nature of excitons in the dimer as opposed to larger stacks.

Energy flow dynamics within cofacial and slip-stacked perylene-3,4-dicarboximide dimer models of π-aggregates

Robust perylene-3,4-dicarboximide (PMI) π-aggregates provide important light-harvesting and electron-hole pair generation advantages in organic photovoltaics and related applications, but relatively few studies have focused on the electronic interactions between PMI chromophores. In contrast, structure-function relationships based on π-π stacking in the related perylene-3,4:9,10-bis(dicarboximides) (PDIs) have been widely investigated. The performance of both PMI and PDI derivatives in organic devices may be limited by the formation of low-energy excimer trap states in morphologies where interchromophore coupling is strong. Here, five covalently bound PMI dimers with varying degrees of electronic interaction were studied to probe the relative chromophore orientations that lead to excimer energy trap states. Femtosecond near-infrared transient absorption spectroscopy was used to observe the growth of a low-energy transition at ~1450-1520 nm characteristic of the excimer state in these covalent dimers. The excimer-state absorption appears in ~1 ps, followed by conformational relaxation over 8-17 ps. The excimer state then decays in 6.9-12.8 ns, as measured by time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. The excimer lifetimes reach a maximum for a slip-stacked geometry in which the two PMI molecules are displaced along their long axes by one phenyl group (~4.3 Å). Additional displacement of the PMIs by a biphenyl spacer along the long axis prevents excimer formation. Symmetry-breaking charge transfer is not observed in any of the PMI dimers, and only a small triplet yield (<5%) is observed for the cofacial PMI dimers. These data provide structural insights for minimizing excimer trap states in organic devices based on PMI derivatives.

Supramolecular electron donor–acceptor complexes formed by perylene diimide derivative and conjugated phenazines

The nanostructure and binding mode of the perylene diimide–phenazine complex can be modulated by the phenazine derivative substituents.

Hierarchical growth of fluorescent dye aggregates in water by fusion of segmented nanostructures

Dye aggregates are becoming increasingly attractive for diverse applications, in particular as organic electronic and sensor materials. However, the growth processes of such aggregates from molecular to small assemblies up to nanostructures is still not properly understood, limiting the design of materials' functional properties. Here we elucidate the supramolecular growth process for an outstanding class of functional dyes, perylene bisimides (PBIs), by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), cryogenic scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Our studies reveal a sequential growth of amphiphilic PBI dyes from nanorods into nanoribbons in water by fusion and fission processes. More intriguingly, the fluorescence observed for higher hierarchical order nanoribbons was enhanced relative to that of nanorods. Our results provide insight into the relationship between molecular, morphological, and functional properties of self-assembled organic materials.

Backbone-directed perylene dye self-assembly into oligomer stacks

Arm wrestling: Backbone-directed "arm-to-arm" aggregation of a newly designed perylene bisimide (PBI) dyad with a defined intramolecular space leads to the growth of kinetically stable extended PBI π-stacks. This PBI dyad was shown to assemble into oligomers up to 21 units in length.

Quadruple π stack of two perylene bisimide tweezers: a bimolecular complex with kinetic stability

Self-assembly: A tweezer-type perylene bisimide (PBI) dyad self-assembles into a defined bimolecular complex composed of a quadruple PBI π stack with remarkable kinetic stability, which is unprecedented for π-stacked dye aggregates (see picture). These persistent supramolecular species are of considerable interest for the elucidation of functional properties of dye aggregates.