NU 2020-039
INVENTORS J Fraser Stoddart* Amine Garci Yassine Beldjoudi
ABSTRACT Collisional intermolecular interactions between excited states form short-lived dimers and complexes that lead to the emergence of excimer/exciplex emission of lower energy, a phenomenon which must be differentiated from the photoluminescence (PL) of the monomeric molecules. Although the utilization of noncovalent bonding interactions leading to the generation of excimer/exciplex PL has been investigated extensively, precise control of the aggregates and their persistence at very low concentrations remains a rare phenomenon. In the search for a fresh approach, Northwestern researchers sought to obtain excimer/exciplex PL from permanent superstructures by incorporating anthracene units into pyridinium-containing mechanically interlocked molecules (MIMs). They developed a method to generate low energy excitations and emissions using mechanically interlocked fluorophores, overcoming standard procedures utilized for chemical modifications of fluorophores to tune their electronic properties. Further, their ability to achieve persistence of the low energy (exciplex) fluorescence at low concentrations, combined with the water solubility of the catenane, are crucial to decrease the cytotoxicity for bioimaging.
APPLICATION
ADVANTAGES
PUBLICATION Garci A, Beldjoudi Y, Kodaimati M, Hornick J, Nguyen M, Cetin M, Stern C, Roy I, Weiss E and Stoddart JF (2020) Mechanical-Bond-Induced Exciplex Fluorescence in an Anthracene-Based Homo[2]catenane. JACS. 142: 7956-7967.
IP STATUS A US patent application has been filed.